About

Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting my website.

My name is Diane Kraus, and I’m a professional freelance artist living in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I work primarily in oils, charcoal, and digital media, creating drawings, paintings, and illustrations of just about anything, with a focus on realism, Classical technique, and craftsmanship.

I enjoy drawing and painting everything from modern fantasy art to sophisticated portraits to loving reminders of our favorite pets. I’m inspired by artists such as Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, Jaques-Louis David, Johannes Vermeer, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and Norman Rockwell. It’s my goal to bring the earthly, human, organic and everyday to the often sterile and stylized digital world. Whether my subject is an illustration of humanity’s past or an imagined future, I want to make it real.

I have studied formally with the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and am self-taught in part through the publications and wisdom of fellow artists, as well as my own lifelong observations. More than anything, I believe in constant study, investigation, and most of all practice. Only by continuing to explore various artistic techniques and perspectives may we open the doorways to our own expression.

For over ten years I have painted everything from airplanes to elves for private clients and commercial commissions. I welcome any questions or inquiries, which can be directed to my email address here. Feel free to also leave a comment on the Contact page, or link up with me through any of the listed social networks!

Thanks again, and enjoy art!

Diane