In late August of 1986, Diane accompanied a friend for a short painting trip to the Kewanna/Grass Creek area of northern Indiana. Within the space of several days, she fell in love with the open skies and austere beauty of the landscape. This, along with the abandoned houses found hidden in the fields of corn and soybeans, brought her back every summer to gather as much material as possible to tide her over during the rest of the year.

By 1991, ready to make a larger commitment, she purchased an old house in the town of Kewanna that she used as studio space. 
This made it possible to work for longer periods of time in the field and to develop friendships with people in the area.  Some of them found their way into her paintings.

Her love of old buildings led her to acquire the town's IOOF Lodge Hall in 1998 for use as a studio/exhibition/classroom space. During the month of August, two one-week painting workshops sponsored by the Art League are available for those artists who would like to work with Diane on location.

 Diane now spends close to five months in Kewanna and has found that a "double life" balanced between rural Indiana and Alexandria, VA has opened many doors and influenced her work profoundly.