Diane Tesler began her painting career in Hawaii, where she studied portrait painting and found as her subjects the abandoned cars and trucks of the island. As a realist, she is drawn to the power or light and solid form, citing Edward Hopper as a major influence. Along with cars, her subjects include still life, landscape, figures and interiors. Tesler has been featured in American Artist and awarded a fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, and merit awards from the Butler Museum of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio. She recently had one-person exhibitions at the Midwest Museum of American Art and Vanderbilt University.