Dione Holt is a landscape painter based in Marble, Colorado, working in oil and gouache. Her studio sits in the Crystal River Valley at the foot of the Elk Mountains — one of the most spectacular and unspoiled landscapes in the American West.

 

From her doorstep, she has access to the rugged terrain that defines her work: mountain meadows, alpine lakes, aspen groves, river corridors, and the ever-changing Colorado sky. Her paintings range from intimate plein air studies made on location to large studio works, and her subject matter spans the Crystal River Valley, the Roaring Fork Valley, and the high country surrounding Aspen and Snowmass.

Dione’s path to painting is as distinctive as her subject matter. Raised in North Queensland, Australia, she spent her early life near the ocean in tropical climates — a world away from the snow-capped peaks she now calls home. She earned a degree in chemical engineering and spent twenty years in a corporate career before making a deliberate and life-changing pivot to the arts. That analytical mind still shows up in her work: she approaches each painting with rigorous attention to composition, value, and color temperature, often working through postcard-sized studies before committing to a larger canvas.

Her formal training includes study at the Houston and Denver Art Students Leagues, and she continues to develop her practice through Scott Christensen’s Adventure of Painting program — one of the most respected landscape painting programs in the country. She works both plein air and in the studio, finding that each informs the other. The energy and immediacy of painting outdoors keeps her studio work alive; the control of the studio lets her push her plein air sketches further.
Colorado’s four seasons are a constant source of inspiration. The electric greens of spring, the wildflower abundance of summer, the golden fire of autumn aspens and cottonwoods, and the long cool shadows of winter each demand a different palette and a different presence — and Dione shows up for all of them.

Her work has been juried into the Plein Air Artists of Colorado Annual National Exhibition, the Crested Butte Plein Air Invitational, and exhibitions across Western Colorado. She has received awards in both oil and water media. Dione is a member of Plein Air Artists of Colorado (PAAC), the American Impressionist Society (AIS), and Oil Painters of America (OPA), and serves as Board President of the Redstone Art Foundation.

Dione teaches landscape painting workshops in the Crystal River and Roaring Fork Valleys, including group classes in Redstone, sessions at The Art Base in Basalt, and private instruction for individuals and small groups. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced painter looking to develop your plein air practice, her workshops offer hands-on painting in some of Colorado’s most breathtaking settings — just minutes from Aspen and Snowmass.

Her paintings are available through Joy & Wylde gallery in Redstone, Colorado, and directly through this website.