Dyana Hesson

The Colors of White

Dyana Hesson -The Colors of White

A special collection of White Mountain wildflowers for Arizona Highways Magazine

Special Scottsdale Artwalk celebration:

Bonner David Galleries
7040 E. Main Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Thursday, June 24th, 2021
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

While much of the Grand Canyon state is hot and void of botanical color in the summer, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in northeastern Arizona is alive with color. And I’m not talking about fall color. Amber and Crimson will have their day, and photographers will rush to those special places in Arizona to capture the autumnal light, soon enough, so just hang on. It’s still summer in the White Mountains and while White is a great description for this region in the winter, in August, this artist thinks Green would be more accurate. The warm greens of treeless, velvet valleys collide with the cool greens of thick pine-scented forests, from 3,500 to 11,500 in elevation. And, while Green is the main character dominating the horizon in the romance of the White Mountains, Blue cannot be ignored. It rushes downward to meet the land, in an ombre of ultra-marine to cerulean blue.

Truth be told, this region has been home to colorful landscapes and characters for years.  Coronado came looking for gold, John Wayne came to ranch cattle, and author Zane Grey came to paint word pictures. His character, Milt Dale, knew this area well.

“Dale pursued a zigzag course over ridges to escape the hardest climbing, but the “senacas”—those parklike meadows so named by Mexican sheep-herders—were as round and level as if they had been made by man in beautiful contrast to the dark-green, rough, and rugged ridges.”

Is it any wonder why Grey loved Arizona’s wild places? But, back to color. Because in the White Mountains, an artist at heart can see more than White, Green, and Blue in the woods, senacas, and sky. There are other players like Pink, Yellow, Red, and Purple, and you can see them perform their parts too, if you know where to look.

– dh

On newsstands June 2021


Arizona Umbrage - Checkermallow, Little Colorado River, AZ 20x16 oil on canvas
Dyana-Hesson-Out-Standing-in-Her-Field,-Sunflower,-X-Diamond-Ranch,-AZ
Morning Light, Green-Flowered Macromeria, X Diamond Ranch, AZ 16x20 oil on canvas Dyana Hesson
Fopur Generations to come
Dyana Hesson Bright Spot Wild geranium White Mountains AZ
Dyana Hesson Whistle for thistle

Dyana Hesson

Dyana was born in 1966 in the Gold Country of California. There she was always happiest outdoors. Her weekends were spent visiting the local nursery and working on the natural landscaping of her family’s home. When she was 12, her father gave her a camera. She began photographing all that was interesting to her; the trees, the flowers, and the natural landscapes.

After a short stay in Southern California (where she met and married her husband in 1985), she moved to Arizona. Although the climate and landscape varied drastically from that of California, the inspiration did not.

Dyana became interested in painting as a way to express things that she couldn’t through a lens alone. She chose oil as her medium because it possessed a fluid quality perfect for the subjects she was painting. She began to experiment with thin layers of carefully blended paint, and the results were luminous. She earned her degree in Art at Arizona State University in 1991 and graduated Magna Cum Laude. After a four year detour to southern Michigan, Dyana and her family returned to Arizona. She continues to live in Mesa with her husband Randy, daughter Sydney and Dog Boon.

Dyana is always in search of her next painting. She takes long hikes in the desert and mountains, and frequently visits botanical gardens across the country. She feels she has the most success when she has the luxury of bringing her subjects home. She then has more time to study them and combine them with other elements. Using only natural lighting in her paintings, timing and weather are always factors.

Dyana is most excited about using her art to glorify God by drawing attention to His creation. She feels that the relationships and opportunities to serve with her art have been the most valuable aspect of her career.

Dyana is a proud to be a Signature Member of American Women Artists, Founding member of the Phoenix Zoo Art Committee, and Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine Master of the Southwest, 2017.

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