ART
Garlic inspiration
Courtesy of the Garlic Festival
VERDANT GREEN Artist Diane Grosman’s depiction of garlic is reminiscent of the hills and canyons of the Gilroy landscape.
Florida artist Diane Grosman wins 2017 Garlic Festival poster contest
hillsides before they burn off.” The artist explained that originally, she had a vision, but as she worked with the piece she, “let it do its thing.” Originally from Boston, Grosman attended the New England School of Art and Design, where she studied graphic design. She worked consistently in her field from her graduation in 1976, until her retirement in 2015. Most of that time was spent in Simi Valley, after relocating there in 1978 to raise her four children. Grosman’s love of Gilroy developed during the road trips she and her family took to San Francisco, to visit her in-laws. The garlic capital
JULY 28, 2017
By KIMBERLY EWERTZ
D
iane Grosman has a message for the city of Gilroy, “Don’t ever stop the Garlic Festival, because it’s an inspiration,” the 2017 Garlic Festival art poster contest winner stated. The intention behind her prize-winning design was to create a representation of the California landscape. “I was trying to represent the clouds that are coming from the hills, the canyons, that actually blow out into the Pacific,” Grosman says. “The fogginess of the hillsides around Gilroy. The way the morning clouds hug the
soon became a routine stop, once they discovered the ice cream. “Garlic ice cream being probably one of the most amazing things I’ve ever tasted in my life,” Grosman says, adding, I love all things garlic.” In 2012 she moved once again, this time on her own, to Winter Haven, Florida. “I wanted to make some changes in my life, so at 59, I packed up my car and drove cross-country to be with my daughter and my grandson in Florida,” Grosman says. Not long after her arrival, Grosman’s daughter, singer Amy Irwin, introduced her to George Grosman, a jazz musician. Three years later, the two were married. “Our house is filled with art and music,” Grosman says, adding that it was her husband who pushed her to get back into art. It was the first time in my life I actually had somebody encourage me to do art, and I blossomed.” Grosman heard about the art poster contest from an acquaintance that suggested she enter. “The last phone call I got from the gentleman telling me that I’d won, I was thinking, maybe I’d placed second or third. I had no idea I was going to be in first place. I know how prestigious it is. I’m on the map,” Grosman says. Grosman’s current painting preference is a combination of acrylics, and surprisingly, Magic Markers. “I’ll actually bleed the Magic Markers out, and then bring it back in, or control it a little bit more with acrylic paint. The poster I did for Gilroy, was done like that. I started out with a flair tip, and then from there I went on to acrylic,” Grosman says. She’s excited to continue on her artistic journey, and feels a sense of pride regarding her most recent work. “Even if I didn’t win, I knew it was the best poster I’d ever done. It was me at my best, it really represented what I could do. For the first time in my life I felt like an artist,” Grosman says.
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