Diane Nevitt

Diane Nevitt was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1955 and moved to Devon in the early 1970s. She studied Fashion and Textile Design at Plymouth College of Art before continuing her textile studies at Taunton College of Arts and Technology. Although she developed a strong love for textile design, painting remained her first passion — and it ultimately became her professional path.

In the early 1990s, Diane spent five years studying under the late, renowned artist Robert Lenkiewicz. Under his tutelage she developed a deep understanding of the technical foundations of painting — shape, tone and colour — and was described by Lenkiewicz as “the loveliest of colourists.”

Much of Diane’s work has been shaped by her extensive travels across Europe, particularly her enduring love of Italy. Music has also played a significant role in her practice, inspiring early works such as Music on the Island, after Michael Galasso, and pieces influenced by the expressive bronze sculptures of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Influences from the Art Nouveau movement and its fin‑de‑siècle sensibilities gradually led Diane toward exploring the timeless, elemental qualities beneath the surface of her work, rather than depicting landscape in a purely representational way.

“I have no preconceived ideas of how the painting will end up. Painting is like music — it must be built on discipline and a firm understanding of technical requirements, while still allowing freedom of expression.”

Diane now works from a converted cotton mill in the Cheshire countryside, close to where she grew up.