Diana Höhlig is a German-born wildlife and bird artist residing in Costa Rica, with her Swiss husband and their four dogs.
Her love of nature and art began in early childhood. She grew up in a rural village in eastern Germany, surrounded by nature and farm animals.
She describes her connection to the natural world and her love of art as her essence in life: 'The inspiration for my artwork comes from the finest details, summed up in the overall beauty of nature. My aim is to capture that feeling of perfection and the natural spirit in my paintings."
Diana enjoys travelling locally and internationally to find new inspiration in nature, studying animals through direct observation in the field, and gathering reference material with her camera and sketchbook.
Diana majored in biology and obtained a master's degree. During her studies, she lived on the North Sea island of Heligoland. Observing the local seabird colony at the 'Red Rock' was a pivotal experience and a significant influence on her artistic career. She began focusing on bird paintings and, at the age of 28, won the prestigious German “Silver Owl” award for bird painters.
Over the following years, Diana travelled across North America, from the west coast of British Columbia to the Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Parks. This was followed by an organised artist conservation safari to East Africa, led by wildlife artist and naturalist Jan Martin McGuire.
Since then, Diana has supported nature and conservation by fundraising for Helping Rhinos and Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and by making contributions to the Pantanal Relief Fund.
But as ornithologist and artist, birds have become her main subject and Diana has created works and illustrations for various avifauna research and conservation projects.
Diana has contributed illustrations for the umbrella association of the German avifaunal society (DDA).
While living in Switzerland, she became actively involved with BirdLife Switzerland through membership and as an active field ornithologist. Through the bird observatory in Sempach, she became involved in supporting the European Bird Census Council (EBCC) by illustrating 17 bird species for the European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 (EBBA2). This is the EBCC's most recent atlas and compiles information on the distribution and abundance of bird species that breed in Europe.
Diana's work has been exhibited at national and international shows, including Modern Bird Paintings in Germany, Birds in Art at the Woodson Art Museum in the USA, and Artists for Conservation in Canada.
Her journey as a wildlife and bird artist continues in her new home in Central America — a true paradise of biodiversity and endless inspiration for new art.
