Interview with Romanian Digital Artist Diana Coatu

Romanian digital artist Diana Coatu is living her second life. After a successful 26-year-long career practicing medicine, she retired and began teaching herself the fundamentals of digital art. Since then, Coatu has gone on to become a well-regarded, widely respected and collected digital artist.

We were lucky enough to lure Diana into an interview, and she’s no less dazzling as a person than her art.

MP: Can you tell me about your background as an artist?

DC: My artistic background is somewhat atypical. I am self-taught and chose this path out of passion in 2015, after 26 years of practicing medicine.

I always had this artistic urge, but I didn’t have time to develop it until then. I took this decision wholeheartedly and set out on this road that was not only full of obstacles but also full of joys and moments of grace.

I was and still am fascinated by the world of fractals. That’s how it all started, with complex fractal software. I continued with mixed media and have been in love with digital painting for the last four years because it gives me unrestricted freedom of expression.

“Aquatic Heralds” by Diana Coatu

MP: Your work feels very organic. Can you tell me about the process of how each comes about? How much planning goes into a given piece?

DC: Yes, you’re right! I generally plan everything very carefully and go into detail. Starting from the initial idea, from the image I have in mind, I move on to the next step, a sketch. Then I put emphasis not only on color but also on textures because I want my paintings to look good printed on a canvas, not only on a screen. I don’t usually finish a painting in one day, and I like to give it a rest and then continue. But this is also not always the case, as I sometimes have spontaneous bouts and follow my intuition at the moment.

MP: What is your relationship with color? How do you think about color in your work?

DC: I guess it’s no secret that I love colors. It’s a love deeply rooted in my soul, my declaration of love for the universe! It is the Multiverse, Life, and multidimensionality. The language of color is fundamental in my paintings; they emanate the high vibration that contributes to healing the world.