Right Livelihood has many precepts but the basic tenet espouses the expression of Life Purpose through honest occupation and reverence toward fellow humans and the natural world. According to various religious and ethical articles, Right Livelihood means knowing who you are and why you are here.

Artist Diana Madaras has perfected this lifestyle. By providing so much more than “an experience of color and joy” with her vibrant paintings, Madaras bestows hope and second chances to thousands of abused, orphaned or injured animals while receiving recognition (Best Tucson Visual Artist nine times) and numerous community service honors for her philanthropy along the way.

Madaras brings faces, landscape and tranquil hacienda scenes to life on the canvas, captured in her signature hues and personality with acrylics or watercolors. She blogs and is a semi-professional photographer, as well. These are just a few of her personal triumphs.

“Creation of art gives both the artist and the viewer a moment of beauty, and a place for the mind to rest,” Madaras attests. “If I can help animals and people through art, there’s nothing better.”

ANIMAL CHAMPION

In her bio, Madaras states that she operated a high profile sports marketing company with clients like the men’s and women’s professional golf associations after receiving her Master’s degree from University of Arizona. A trip to Greece in 1993 was the catalyst for the burgeoning artist to sell her company and begin painting for a living. It’s only natural that she combine a love of art with her love for animals as her life’s work.

Now, more than two decades since forming Madaras Gallery and her Art for Animals Charity Foundation, Madaras continues to focus on animal causes by sponsoring special events, sales and donation drives every year. In 2019, for instance, Madaras was Honoree for her assistance with the Tucson Wildlife Center – the sole remaining  rescue facility in southern Arizona – as their patient load has more than doubled in the last few years with no additional funding.

A passions for animal wellbeing runs in her family, she explains. Both Madaras’ father and brother are veterinarians in their home state of New Jersey.As a child, Madaras helped out where she could,from filling pet prescriptions to working  as her father’s surgical nurse when she was in college. When people dropped off abandoned wild birds, squirrels of rabbits, she fed them and provided the care they needed. From a young age, she says, Madaras always had great compassions for these injured animals and prayed for magical healing powers to ease their suffering.

Lately during these hard times, Madaras has shared a positive message of hope with her artwork by dedicating ‘Sending You a Hug‘ to first responders and members of the healthcare community. It became a public art centerpiece, reproduced on banners and signs at no cost to the facilities. For the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, Madaras painted a holiday card-set ‘My Forever Home‘, as well as benefiting the Reid Park Zoo with ‘Mapenzi‘, a painting of Tucson’s new baby elephant. (feature image)

” I am blessed that I do something I love for a living. Painting for me is as essential as eating and breathing,” she says. This year Madaras gallery will host two major shows, an “All Artists Show” in March and the “Annual Show” in October. Each show will feature 15 new paintings by the artist.

Please visit her secure website for dates, details and a virtual gallery tour. An online gift shop is also available. For appointments, call (520) 615-3001. ArtBeat Magazine thanks Mrs. Diana Madaras and her marketing director, Ms. Kiley Kennedy, for their generous time and all images provided.