WHERE THE
WBiirldsd Diane Iverson on Birding and Art.
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-Angie Johnson-Schmit
hen author and artist Diane Iverson’s husband was getting ready to retire, they planned a trip to celebrate. As a gift for the trip, she bought him a birding journal, thinking it “would be something fun to do” during their travels. Twenty-five years later, they still love birdwatching and Diane has turned her hand to creating extraordinary portraits of wildlife, with birds being one of her favorite subjects.
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Iverson and her husband have always loved hiking and camping, which is one of the reasons they moved to Prescott, AZ in 1996. “The nice thing about Prescott is that it has just the right kind of climate so that you can hike year-round,” said Iverson. “It’s not as hot as Phoenix in the summer and it’s not too cold in the winter, so it’s like the perfect place in the world to live.” They hike nearly every day, adding birds to their list and gathering photos that often end up as references for Iverson’s colored pencil drawings. She seldom attempts to draw in the field, pointing out that “everything I draw moves and they don’t speak English and they have no motivation to sit still for me.”
Photocredit: Blushing Cactus Photography
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