Diana Madaras

Tucson, AZ | madaras.com

Diana Madaras’ bold, colorful artwork recently earned her Tucson’s vote for Best Visual Artist for the ninth time. Dozens of newspaper and magazine articles have been written about her and her work, and she has been featured on television shows produced by NBC, CBS, and PBS affiliates.

She is president of the nonprofit Art for Animals Foundation, a charity she founded that has raised more than $200,000 to help abused, injured and orphaned animals. For the past several years, she has concentrated her fund-raising efforts on the Tucson Wildlife Center and was the chair of the Benefit in 2018. The event raised enough money to hire dedicated veterinarians for the first time in the Center’s 20 year history.

Much in demand for commissioned artwork, Madaras has completed paintings for all of the major resorts in Tucson including the Hilton El Conquistador, Westin La Paloma, Loews Ventana Canyon, Canyon Ranch and Miraval. She also has created eight paintings for the estate of the former President of Mexico.

Her art has appeared on the covers of 9 magazines including Art Book of the West, The American Veterinary Hospital Journal, and Tucson Lifestyle Magazine. Her recently published coffee table book Private Spaces includes 152 paintings as well as the story of her unconventional artist journey. Her newest book, The Colors of Tucson, is a tour of “The Old Pueblo” through her imaginative paintings from

Madaras earned a master’s degree from the University of Arizona in 1977. Before opening her art galleries, she operated a high-profile sports marketing company in Tucson, promoting major sporting events including LPGA and PGA golf tournaments. A month-long painting trip to Greece in 1993 changed her life, prompting her to sell her marketing company and devote her career to painting.