Diane Charyk Norris
Drawn to Water

Date installed: September, 2025
Paintings, Drawings, and Monotypes

Artist website: www.charyknorris.net
Artist’s price list

A bit about me: I was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up immersed in the city’s vibrant cultural landscape—particularly the Smithsonian museums and the Phillips Collection, which offered early and lasting inspiration. From a young age, I was also captivated by the natural world. My father was born in the Canadian Rockies, and I have vivid, formative memories of summer visits to the mountains and glaciers with extended family. Some of my earliest sketching experiences were of the sweeping panoramas viewed from the Banff School of Fine Arts. We also spent time on Cape Cod, where I first began to paint.

In my current work, I am drawn to the underlying structures and patterns of nature. I seek a deeper understanding of the interplay between light, shifting perspectives, and the dynamic energy of water.  My goal is to express these elements in a way that feels both coherent and deeply intuitive.

Travel is essential to my practice. I walk extensively, photograph, and sketch—always in search of source material that informs my studio work. Recent highlights include a trip to coastal Portugal, a painting retreat in Sedona, Arizona, and a workshop at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ireland. Still, the New England coastline—especially Maine and Cape Cod—remains my most enduring source of inspiration.

A favorite quote of mine, by Loren Eiseley, reads: “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” It was often referenced by The Waterfront Center, a nonprofit urban waterfront organization I’ve long been connected to through my architectural world and my partner, Charley Norris. I hold deep respect for waterfronts of all kinds—those liminal spaces where land meets ocean, river, lake, or canal.

These places continue to serve as powerful, poetic sources of reflection in both my life and my art.

We hope you enjoy Diane’s work. If you’d like, you can click below to send her a comment or question…

These watercolor monotypes explore the dynamic interplay of energy, light, and shifting form—shaped by the movement of water along rocky shorelines. I am drawn to the indirect, intuitive nature of the monotype process, where spontaneity and control exist in tension. Painting on plates allows pigment to move freely, settling in unpredictable ways that reflect the natural rhythms of the sea.

Once dry, I layer multiple plates—each one partially transparent and often overlapping—to construct a rich, multi-dimensional image. The final transfer onto damp watercolor paper captures a fleeting moment: a one-of-a-kind impression that echoes the ephemeral, fluid essence of water in motion.

Painting and drawing the path of water—always seeking passages of light.

A rushing or a meandering trail of white water, its motion a restless dance.

Reflections shimmer across the surface—glimpses of the world above,
held just for a moment.

Walking along the water’s edge, I search for a particular light—patterns, color, movement, and space.
Water, with its ever-changing character, has a way of captivating the senses. Yet beyond the visual experience, I am drawn to the vital role that coastal edges play in our environment. Coastal ecosystems capture carbon at a rate ten times faster than mature tropical forests, storing it in habitats like seaweed beds and salt marshes.

These paintings reflect my deep connection to these coastal edge places—where nourishing tidal soils offer refuge and renewal.

As a landscape painter, circumnavigating an island on a sailboat is a captivating visual experience, especially when 60% of the island is a protected tropical national park.  I watched, took photos, and sketched the panorama of sea, changing skies and shifting shadows on the volcanic mountainous landscape. Upon return to dry land, I painted these watercolors.