The Dunes, acrylic on canvas, by Dian Der Ohanian Phillips

Artwork by Dian Der Ohanian Phillips will be featured throughout September in River City Art Association’s Artist of the Month gallery in the Vigo County Public Library at Seventh and Poplar streets in Terre Haute.

Der Ohanian Phillips has always been an artist. Growing up in New Albany, Indiana, she took every elective art class in middle and high school, and took Saturday morning art classes at the University of Louisville. Also during that time (and long before online courses), she began correspondence course work with Art Instruction Schools. That foundation course in drawing, painting and commercial art gave her the skills to be hired in an art department immediately after high school graduation.

A scholarship student at Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, Dian received a B.F.A. in visual communications. She completed a masters program at Indiana University, and did additional post-graduate work at Boston University. While at Herron, she studied painting with professors Harry A. Davis, Edmund Brucker, Robert Berkshire and Sarah Burns.

Dian was a graphic designer/art director for the majority of her professional life. She continued her fine art pursuits during those years by taking drawing and painting classes. After retiring, she began painting again full time and has participated in several group and solo exhibitions in Indiana and Illinois.

She works primarily in watercolor and acrylic, and creates images that are strongly influenced by nature and rural scenes. Her paintings are in private collections throughout the United States.

Dian’s artwork will be featured again in October in the RCAA Outreach Gallery in Harrison College.

River City Art Association meets at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month in the VCPL. For membership information, visit RiverCityArt.org or call officers Todd Stokes at 812-232-0048 or Mike Bender at 812-251-7724.