Diana Young has been "making pictures" for as long as she can remember. She says that at a very early age she was praised for all her efforts, and since that early encouragement, she has approached her work with cheerful certainty. That she has been creating art with enthusiasm for seven decades is evident in the exuberance and energy captured in her work.

When asked to describe her paintings, the prolific artist says that as she has grown older and more analytical, her work has evolved towards an emphasis of line, direction and force. Her focus now, working in both acrylic and tempera, is on motion rather than on a point or an object, she prefers a dynamic interlocking of shapes to attempts at realism. Diana also prefers to paint in outdoor locations, using the locale as a point of departure as opposed to a study in nature. She likes to find the "kernel of a place" and finds joy in rearranging the elements of the landscape. Originally from New Haven, Conn. Diana spent her summers in Stonington, Conn. and West Boothbay. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1957. After living briefly in New Jersey and Virginia she and her husband, noted forensic chemist James Young, moved to Istanbul, Turkey where they resided for three years. They moved to Biddeford Pool in 1967. She and her husband now live in Bangor and summer in Eastport.

Diana is an active member of several art foundations and organizations, including the Bangor Art Society and Boothbay Region Art Foundation. Throughout her career she has displayed her paintings extensively in New England and has won many awards including second place in the 2010 All Maine Juried Show at BRAF. Her work has been featured in Psychology Today magazine and the centerfold painting in Carl Little's book The Art Of Monhegan is her painting "Artist's Attic", keeping good company with Rockwell Kent, Edward Hopper and Jamie Wyeth, among others. Her newest work, featured in this exhibit, is walnut ink drawings on paper. Although some are related to her paintings, they are conceived as independent works of art. They are energetic, detailed accounts of her experience of particular places. She does not always choose the obviously picturesque, but instead angles, corners and forgotten details come alive on her paper through her profound sense of place. The works are small but definitely represent very large ideas.

The Walnut Ink Drawings will be featured at Gold/Smith Gallery from July 1 through July 30. Diana Young will be at a special reception for the artist at the Gold/Smith Gallery Friday, July 6 from 4 until 6 p.m. to talk about her work and share her new and bold interpretations of Maine places with her public. The gallery is open 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sundays by chance or appointment. It is now celebrating its 38th season in Boothbay Harbor and is located at 41 Commercial St. (next to the Ebb Tide Restaurant) in Boothbay Harbor, across from the waterfront. For more information the gallery can be reached at 207-633-6252.