recent canvas pieces
small works on paper
light collection gallery
note cards
previous works
studio and stories
Artists story

Diane Reiber

recent canvas pieces
small works on paper
light collection gallery
note cards
previous works
studio and stories
Artists story

I enjoy the freedom
that paint allows

…no punctuation or perfect grammar necessary, just a blank canvas ready to take in my story and share
diane reiber

xo

24 x 18 x 2
water based oil on canvas
no matter the briefness
or the extended timeframe of Love,
it shapes, moves, and heals
leaving its beauty within,
forever changed.
$650

Summer is within, always

15 1/2 x 8 1/2
water based oil on treated paper
“…dusted with the air of high June”
As I reflect on this line from a poem by Andrea Potos, her words inspire this painting. Soft airy clouds floating along intense blue skies. Fields sharing every hue of green and the decision of taking hold of summer as we winter ahead.
$325

shoes off

24 x 18 x 2
water based oil on canvas
Taking inspiration from line in a poem I recently
read, I let my paintbrush share its impact with soft
tones and filtered light.
“Earth’s crammed with heaven…
but only he who sees,
takes off his shoes”
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
$650

POSSIBILITY

18 x 36 x 2
water based oil on canvas
“I dwell in possibility” - Emily Dickinson.
So much insight shared in this quote as I momentarily forgot to be open to possibilities and instead buried myself for awhile under heaviness, not a good plan… it wasn’t until I let go of the worry that hope emerged.
A photo of the Nebraska landscape taken by a friend was the inspiration piece and seemed fitting, the image sharing light lifting the darkness.
$550

INFUSED LIGHT

24 x 18 x 2
water based oil on canvas
INFUSED LIGHT
At times life can seem like a warm, fragrant spring day and you feel light on your feet. Other moments can seem dark, heavy, uphill and endless. I’ve found that there is always a thread of light, even if it’s a slight glimmer from the depths beneath the depths.
A treasured moment with God who is as vast as the skies above helps me realize His desire to share His light and love within each one of us, wherever we may find ourselves. Just as this single star adds its seemingly small light to illuminate the heavens, we are all invited to be a part of this whole amazing tapestry. Infused by Gods light, words escape how cherished I feel after this encounter and this is where the painting takes over.
Every time I sit with this piece, there is a verse from a song by Oh Wonder that plays in my mind … “I’m a lonely star, is there anybody out there”? -the answer, yes.
$550

Let me see you

20 x 10 x 2
water based oil on canvas
This piece was wonderful to work on, work through and draw closer.
Tangled thoughts make it difficult to focus, pray or really string words together and as I share my demise with You, I hear
“let Me see you”
tender, calm and peace infused these words while frustration, anxiousness and bewilderment left.
I will be sitting here in this spot with these words, allowing them to unfold and allowing myself to unfold, such a beautiful invitation
$250

listening to beauty

18 x 36 x 2
water based oil on canvas
this morning I’m opting to go against habit by turning off the radio in my car while I’m driving, deciding to notice what’s arounds me instead…. clouds, trees, grass yes. But go deeper.
Tightly packed trees in a row that as I drive by each one, their shadows brush against my face. The glowing sun making a sliver through the clouds and pressing in. With each cloud, their progression of size and shape mimics the ocean waves making me feel like that last one will envelop me and I’m okay with that.
As I finish taking in the view around me I am grateful for all that I’ve seen this morning realizing all this could have been lost on me in the hum of noise.
$675

breathing room

24 x 18 x 2
water based oil on canvas
This piece was titled before I even began to paint it. On an evening walk with my husband, lofty moonlit clouds were above us and the first star of the night appeared in the sky.
We talked about the need for space and solitude to collect our thoughts and just breathe. Away from the noise, away from the distractions. For my husband it’s gardening, for me, my art studio or a simple chair near a window with a view of nature.
Breathing Room shares that place, with no ceiling above you. Reclaiming the sacredness of who you are and a feeling deep in your bones of the Presence within. Allowing unspoken language to enter, restore and guide.
$550

along the way

12 x 24 x 2
water based oil on canvas
This piece has moments of past, present and future intertwined. I spent time on the curve of the road, touched the soft grasses and stood under the rays of light breaking through these clouds, reflecting on my own life where I’ve experienced Light and beauty and its healing rays.
Funny as I was painting this, I took a break and stepped out for a brief walk noticing the large clouds overhead, it’s like I couldn’t escape them inside my studio or outside! Moments from these clouds found their way onto the canvas as inspiration in the present moment, the future is shared here too.
Seems fitting as Love is timeless.
$550

inner cadence

18 x 24 x 2
water based oil on canvas

As I work on this piece the question keeps coming to mind; where is home to me?
Every brushstroke, every gold and cream tone highlighted in the field and then in the clouds, it all makes me wonder.
As I walk through this field, recognizing the busy life of insects and no see-ums beneath my feet contrasted with the grand and endless sky above, this rhythm of life is all around me. I realize this is home. This is where I feel that inner cadence drawing me in. I sense and get a taste of life to the full, the energy buzzing around me. To reach the top of the hill and sit with the One who lay out all the intricate details. Home
$650

rest

18 x 24 x 2
water based oil on canvas
walking along the shoreline at Lake Harriet with my husband I felt a connection with the grey toned sky and water, the tethered and anchored sailboats.
Sometimes we need to be gently led into the calmer waters to be anchored and renewed in its stillness.
How difficult it can be to remain still, once you give in though, there is much to receive.
$550

subtle movements

water based oil
22 x 28 x 1½
Often when He speaks it’s quietly and in a movement, like waves gently coming in.
The boat, always at bay and waiting for me to climb in with all my concerns, doubts and fears, allowing Him to navigate the waters as He has done countless times before, resting in that assurance.
As I painted this 2nd rendition of Subtle Movements I thought a lot of my beloved Uncle Clair, who enjoyed the subtle movements of the water too.
$550

prone to wander

24 x 36 x 2
water based oil
At times I’ve felt as if I’m wandering the hallways of my mind, in search of you. Opening cracked doors and peering in, longing for a calm landing place.
Feeling as though I’ve missed you, with suitcase in hand and ready to board, only to find the train has just left.
This is a well-traveled and familiar place. I realize all that is needed here is to simply be still. The running, seeking and wandering halts, as I slip into an empty chair and feel the warmth of your light.
You are always right here, just waiting for an invitation.
$650

dwellings

24 x 18 x 2
water based oil on canvas
Places of retreat, where curling up is naturally welcomed with promises of no intrusions.
Breathing freely, replaces tightly holding your body and breath
and when lines are crossed, this place that is remembered within you, shares its sunlight, spilling and flooding into your rooms. With layers being lifted, unveiling deep healing.
This place where Truth desires to meet you reminding you who you are,
and Whom you belong to.
Welcoming you to stay indefinitely.
-unavailable

fragile hope

24 x 12 x 2
water based oil on canvas

Walking through the grasses and dandelions
and hearing the sounds of a soft, gentle breeze
making it’s way
through this field was peaceful.
There is a story in this painting of hope and so much love.
Feel free to sit, make a wish..
-sold

ascent

18 x 24 x 2
water based oil on canvas
Walking outdoors this time of year has me looking up into the vast sky asking anticipating questions: Is it time yet? Are they on their way?
I search the skies trying to spot the endless ribbons of v shaped patterns made by thousands of Sandhill Cranes.
A celebration in the skies that is ushering in a fresh new season, an invitation to allow this to wash over me as well.
As I paint these birds an appreciation grows for their many intricacies. The variety of hues, their strength and determination seen in their eyes and bodies in flight.
They are magnificent.
-sold

interwoven light

20 x 20 x 2
water based oil on canvas
Sharing a space to open up, curl into and reverently honor loss. Allowing unanswered questions to surface and inviting God’s light to filter in.
As I started this project for a client, I painted with loss in mind, a memorial for the recipient as she has suffered tremendous loss.
An amazing photo of a tree with a simple swing taken by Ryan Parker offered inspiration as it encapsulated a certain reverence to the story. I started to put in the background, the trees and grasses. I saw the shadows play on the ground, light and darkness interwoven. I also notice the well-worn path from the swing. I sensed the painting shift and while it honors the loss of life, it’s also becoming a painting of God in the midst.
The invitation to sit in the heartache of it all, create a well-worn path and take in God’s healing and comfort in the shade he provides to protect us. That even in these most difficult and traumatic times of our lives he offers hope, protection and yes life.
-sold

in the meantime

18 x 24 x 2
water based oil on canvas
traveling from Nebraska to Colorado this scene along the way struck me. Like this trip, how many times am I in between a destination, an exciting event or waiting for the hard edges of life to lift?
It seems there is always an in the meantime place in my life. How do I live, during these times? As I lean into this realization I see an opportunity to live life to the fullest, wherever that moment may find me.
-sold

relinquish

25 X 18 X 2
Where did you go…
how far this time?
Walking into this day I oddly repel from any sort of light or beauty.
Bitterness is forming from this sudden intrusion forming in my heart.
I see the outline of the small chapel down the road, I sense that glimpse of peace.
Why do I push back? My feet moving forward but my heart is two blocks behind.
I enter and sit, I look and feel my own heaviness and then, I let go.
As I let it go, I see myself releasing vibrant delicate flowers from the folds of my dress
that cascade to the floor.
All my bitterness and heaviness I had just released is revealed as flowers to You
and as they spill to the ground, each one is carefully gathered.
I feel You and inhale You deeply into those heavy places and I sense it all dissipating.
Walking home I experience the beauty and light all around me,
recognizing that I am vastly different then when I stumbled into this day.
-sold

Image 2-27-19 at 1.21 PM.jpg — there you are…

water based oil
24 x 36 x 2
In the morning as I’m deep in my thoughts and focused on my to do list, I realize that I haven’t even acknowledged or noticed God in these early moments. As I turned toward Him, I hear this warm response…”there you are,” not accusingly or impatient, more like calmly waiting for me to receive Him into my day and cherishing the fact that I have.
-sold

when you’re ready

20 x 10 x 1 1/2
sadness, grief, sorrow; use any descriptive word you wish. It’s a lonely place. Especially when it feels endless.
Who will you invite here, who has the time or patience?
I feel that we rush through this, or even want to rush others through it. It’s uncomfortable, so many hard questions floating around, accusations, confusion.
In the end, I found the one to invite. I was caught from falling and shown a way through it, only when I was ready,
$175

moments before

36 x 24 x 3/4”
water based oil on canvas
the rains come or the light breaks through,…those moments before life's greatest or harshest events often go unnoticed, until you find yourself searching for the normalcy before that life changing moment. I believe and have felt how God prepares you in all of these moments.
Like a Mom bundling their child in a warm scarf before he runs out into the bitter cold, God comforts us in His layers of strength, hope and love preparing us for what is to come.
-sold

Elegant structure

24 x 30 x 1
water based oil on canvas
To see what’s behind the foliage and delicate buds… the architecture of a tree. The purposeful bends and curves that the elements have helped shape & how they continually reach for the light, beauty in motion .
$325

Heirloom Peonies

18 x 24 x 2
water based oil
Recently I learned the story of these beautiful and unique Single-Petal Peonies that were handed down from generation to generation to enjoy. This is the basis of my painting. The story beneath though, evolved as I painted. As I placed shadows where overlaps and a draping of petals naturally occurred, I noticed these shadows deeply within myself. Those places that seemed hidden, unnoticed, even distant and somewhat lonely. But as I paint I see veiled beauty and I experience a tender embrace. Even in the shadows where one can find oneself from time to time, there is hope… there is beauty.
-sold

TRANSITIONS

20 x 20 x 2
water based oil on canvas
…as the water empties and we look back
and see the gift given, there is beauty to behold,
an appreciation for this life, the intricacies of our very own body knit together and placed here for this moment in time.
The relationships, the experiences and the love
there is space to breathe and take this all in
to reflect, reverence and realize
that I’m still here, it’s okay and there is more.
To recognize the Love surrounding me, present in the warmth of this light has been present throughout.
To realize the living water is not only for this lifetime spent in the familiar
but for transitioning to the new.
-sold

just a moment longer

24 x 18 x 2
water based oil on canvas
While driving through the countryside and watching the warm golden fields against the bold endless skies pass by, I commented to my husband, ”look how soft the fields appear, I just want to go and lie down in them and take this beauty all in”.
Here, there is an invitation to sit in the warmth of this lush golden field, to look up at the sky and stay, even stay a moment longer after your body impatiently tells you to move on.
Sometimes grace can come in a slight moment, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wing, yet there is an unmistakable weight to it that touches you deeply and will change you if you allow.
Learning to let it seep in… every last drop, then moving forward anew.
-sold