Meet Diane Bay | Artist & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Diane Bay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Diane, why did you pursue a creative career?
I loved to create with my hands when I was a young child, and that interest deepened as I became an adult. However, my adoptive parents did not encourage me to pursue my art, but wanted me to do something “practical.” So visual art became a hobby and freelance graphic design became my job. This allowed me to use some creativity, but it wasn’t an outlet for my own vision.

Then, in my fifties, I finally connected to my birth parents. I discovered they were both creatives: my mother was the 70s A-List actress Karen Black, and her mother was a published writer. My birth father is Robert (Beny) Benedetti, an Emmy-winning producer and theater director who also was dean of CalArts for many years. Both of them encouraged me to pursue whatever creative endeavor I was passionate about.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My diligence is one thing that sets me apart. Both of my chosen paths, oil painting and writing a book, require long term commitments for success. I have fought through difficulties like depression and found my way out through the creative process itself, with the help of encouraging loved ones.

It was my birth parents’ encouragement that gave me the confidence to begin and continue my creative road. As I began to chronicle the amazing journey of finding Karen, I decided to write a book about it. This is something I could not have dreamed of doing before my birth parents gave me the confidence I needed. Along the way, although Karen had passed away after we had one year together, Beny and his wife Joan were there for me and helped me to have the diligence and perseverance necessary to complete my manuscript and publish it.

Another thing that sets me apart is my love of learning, which keeps life interesting to me. Oil painting was something I had always wanted to do, and to be successful means accepting that I don’t know everything. There is such richness in oils and so many ways to handle the medium that I must always be learning in order to deepen my understanding and hone my craft.

Encouragement has been one of the lessons I’ve learned: to really SEE the people in my life, acknowledge their gifts, and do what I can to support them. A related lesson is to make sure I make time for others. It is so easy for me to get consumed by whatever project I am working on, and I try to remember how Karen always made time to engage with and listen to everyone who came to see her, even when she was gaunt from cancer in a hospital bed. She was a true inspiration.

I hope when the world sees me, they see someone who has reached her creative goals while having a positive impact on others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My birth parents both made LA their home. If I were visiting LA again, I would definitely want to go to Mulholland Drive to see the homes and the Hollywood sign. I would want to eat at Jerry’s Famous Deli. But especially I love the ocean. Venice Beach is a must-see for the vivid art, creative diversity and the contrast of the calm, quiet shoreline across the vast sand.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to three people: My birth father and stepmother Beny and Joan Benedetti for their encouragement and help with the writing process.
My husband Rich Bay for his patience with me during the years of writing my book.

Website: FindingKarenBlack.com and DianeBay.com

Instagram: dianebaydesign

Facebook: facebook.com/dianebayartist, facebook.com/findingkarenblack/

Other: Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Karen-Black-Roots-Become/dp/0578373718/

Image Credits
The initial horizontal image of me outdoors with brick building background: Christopher Chase Photography