Dian Der Ohanian Phillips with her photography exhibit at Vigo County Public Library – June 2018

River City Art Association member Dian Der Ohanian Phillips of Terre Haute will display her black and white photographic works throughout June in RCAA’s Artist of the Month gallery space at the Vigo County Public Library.

Day Lily by Dian Der Ohanian Phillips

The display includes “Day Lily,” which received First Place in the Photography category at RCAA’s Ninth Annual Juried Exhibition in August 2017.

Dian Der Ohanian Phillips has always been a visual 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. Her foundation courses included fine art and photography (where
she learned darkroom skills). 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. Her
career began when layouts were created on a drawing board using the tools of the trade:
x-acto knives, rubber cement, ruling pens and acetate overlays. Twenty years later, she
transitioned from drawing board to Macintosh computers. Her photography also
transitioned from film/darkrooms to digital cameras. 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.
Dian works primarily in watercolor, acrylic and mixed media. Her paintings and her black
and white photos are strongly influenced by nature and rural scenes. Her art is in private
collections throughout the United States.