Lyn Diefenbach
Born and raised in Yeppoon in Queensland, Australia in a family of artists and craftspeople, Lyn Diefenbach has a brush in her hands almost her entire life. Previous generations in her family were potters and painters, and that talent continues on today. Her father was a wood turner and her mother a potter, while her siblings range from weavers and lead-liners to pastors.
Diefenbach first experimented with oils in primary school, and by the age of 12 sold her first painting. A local art society took the young artist under its wing, taking her out for en plein air painting excursions. This experience ignited her inspiration and set her on the path of becoming a professional artist.
Initially, Diefenbach only painted landscapes, but soon found herself drawn back to portraiture and the figurative art of her youth. The tutelage of Daniel E. Greene in America and the philosophies of Richard Schmid profoundly affected her. She strived for mastery qualities and techniques in her work, setting the stage for her photorealistic floral art.
READ MORE +She describes herself as a painter of reality, delighting in giving the illusion of the three dimensional on a two-dimensional surface. Using her understanding of tones to create dimension in her art, she works from reference photos or while on site.
Diefenbach will lightly blend her pastels with her hand, something pastel artists shy away from, in order to pull the pigments together to achieve her out-of-focus backgrounds. She loves working in pastels because the medium can be built up, saying it is the purest form of pigment and is a spontaneous form of creating art. Conversely, she will spend an hour mixing her palettes for her oil paintings before her first brushstroke.
Her floral works have earned her membership in the International Guild of Realism in 2008, and Master Circle status in the International Association of Pastel Societies in 2014. She has achieved Master Pastellist status with the Pastel Society of Australia.
Diefenbach says her paintings are the public face of her private meditations and self-expression. She says:
“Each painting is a vehicle for self expression and a stepping stone of understanding both of myself and the subject I have chosen. With each stepping stone of understanding comes a deep reverence for the rich tapestry of life.”
Diefenbach has traveled all over the world as a teacher to pass on her masterful skills and techniques. Her work and philosophies have been published in numerous magazines and books.
Diefenbach was in an episode of the TV show “Put Some Colour In Your Life” in 2015, a show about artists from Australia and around the globe. She has been featured in International Artist, Pastel Journal and the Australian Artist magazines.
She jokes that she briefly had interest in being an archaeologist, but really only wanted to dig in the dirt, so she instead took up gardening. The beautiful results of her green thumb can be seen at her home and studio in Yeppoon.
Awards include:
- 2014 and 2013: Finalist, International Association of Pastel Societies Juried Exhibition
- 2013: First prize, International Artist Competition #77 – Flowers and Gardens
- 2012 and 2011: Honorable mention, Pastel 100 (Pastel Journal Magazine)
- 2006: First prize, International Artist Competition #32 – Flowers and Gardens
- 2004: People’s Choice, Spirit of the Outback Arts Festival
