BACKGROUND

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Ms. Satterwhite expressed her love for art at an early age.  She often entered contests, and fondly recalls many creative art teachers.  She's worked in a variety of mediums such as watercolor, acrylic, metal sculpture, and charcoal.  Her college education was at Principia College near St. Louis, Illinois, where she graduated with a B.A. degree that emphasized marketing.  Beyond her business studies, she wrote two of her own courses for credit and attended a marketing internship in San Francisco.  A variety of art courses complemented her busy schedule, with her favorites being graphic design and photography.  One special photography class project that she recalls fondly involved the growing of crystals in a chemistry lab, and shooting macro photos of them with unusual lighting, then putting it all together in a multi-media show complete with music.

A talented pianist, she's played since she was 8 years old, with the offer to take it to a serious level at an early age.  She decided she couldn't give up her love for art and tennis, so she kept finding ways to balance them all throughout the years.  She's especially enjoyed playing piano in the orchestra for numerous high school and college productions.

Dinah has also enjoyed playing tennis from an early age on, with a whole family who plays the sport at a competitive level.  She competed throughout High School, and achieved a notable ranking in the State of Colorado in 1995.  She continues to play in various leagues today.  She has taught tennis periodically throughout her life, and appreciates the hard work her mother put in for over 25 years as a professional tennis teacher.  The whole family enjoys playing together when they visit for the holidays or on special occasions.

After college, her art, music and tennis took a back seat (with occasional free-lance commission work) for 15 years while she held management & marketing positions in industries like advertising, insurance, and several hi-tech firms.  Iomega remains her favorite - she enjoyed the creative processes involved in working with Iomega's dynamic channel marketing team, ad agencies, and OEMs, as she developed marketing tools for print, TV, retail stores, VARs, and unique programs such as interactive disks. 

RECENT YEARS

In 1997, Ms. Satterwhite moved to Bainbridge Island, Washington.  Her studio in her home on the waterfront allows her to work any hour of the day or night -- whenever inspiration stirs.  Many of her photographs are taken on Bainbridge Island or at many of the beautiful Pacific Northwest locations within a day's drive.  Several times a year she travels outside of Washington, with her husband.  Recent trips include a Northern California excursion for her 2001 Vineyard Series, an Oregon Coast trip to shoot some lighthouses and Mt. Rainier on the return, and Minneapolis, Minnesota for an antique wooden carousel shoot and portrait job.  In 2002 she spent two weeks shooting classic scenes in Germany and Italy, and looks forward to a return trip to explore more of Europe.

In the midst of a very busy schedule, Dinah decided to challenge her creative skills in a new adventure - painting a mural.  With a new home completed in 1999, she took advantage of all the white walls, and a very supportive husband, and painted unique faux finishes in almost every room.  But she wanted something really special for the master bathroom.  So the 6'x8' wall behind the tub was the perfect spot for a mural, reminiscent of an Italian seaside villa.  The results are shown in the two photos down at the right.  What a view!

In spite of some extreme challenges in her life, Dinah maintains a very positive attitude.  She is a bounty of creativity, and is grateful to express herself through her photography, piano and tennis, among other things.  She's the first to admit to having a constant stream of creative ideas that will never be tapped into during one lifetime.  A recent newspaper article about her concludes a full page write-up with the following: "Right brain, left brain.  She indulges them both."  Bravo.

INSPIRATION

The beauty from nature and the myriad of colors around her are just part of Ms. Satterwhite's inspiration.  She acknowledges the great gift of creativity and that special "eye" for photography as coming from a higher source, and appreciates the love, passion, and energy with which she's able to express these talents.  Her husband Rob is a very special source of inspiration.  His love and support are very important to Dinah, and she adds that he's the best "assistant" around.  They love to travel together and share in the discovery of new adventures and moments to capture on film.  Dinah has a special love for animals, and she and Rob really enjoy their black lab-mix Kayla and two cats.  Last but not least, her family, friends and customers provide a great source of feedback and ideas, as they respond to her images and new releases with joy and enthusiasm.

After Dinah creates an image, she loves to come up with creative names for them.  Names such as Sunflower Sally, Eye of Pansy, Daring Daisies, and Colour Faire all have special significance with regard to what Dinah sees in the image -- either when it was originally taken, or in the finished image.

Dinah is one of those rare people who can see beauty in the little things, as well as the obvious ones.  Her garden, which she's designed into a lovely "artist's" garden, is also a source of inspiration.  The rock wall, waterfall and stream, numerous flower beds, roses, meandering pathways, patterns in the leaves, and the colors of the changing seasons all serve as constant reminders of nature's beauty and resourcefulness.  Dinah often spends hours each day nurturing her garden.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Ms. Satterwhite enjoys handcoloring her images several days a week, with a heavier schedule around the holidays.  She plays tennis several times a week and competes on leagues.  Dinah teaches piano two days a week and continues sharing her love for music with her students and at the recitals.  She has even written a few songs, and wishes for more hours in the day to write more.

NEW ADDITION

On January 6, 2005, the latest addition to the Satterwhite household came into the world.  Little Cort is a very special joy to Rob and Dinah, and baby photos are everywhere!  He seems to love the camera (lucky for Dinah), and their lives will never be the same.  More to come on Cort.

FUTURE

Each year Dinah releases a special themed "series" of Handcolored photos.  The 2001 Vineyard Series resulted in images such as Purple Suede, Vineyard Estate, Grapes a Peelin,' and Merlot Magic.  The 2002 series was a collection of classic car photos, with an emphasis on unique "parts" of the cars, such as exaggerated fenders, front end gridwork, reflections, or simply classic lines.  This series includes images such as Ford 'n Flag, which features the front end of a 1950 Ford, complete with the eagle on the license plate  and the gentle reflection of an American flag on the graceful curve of the hood.  Other classics that she has captured include a 1943 French Citrón, and a 1960 Silver Phantom Rolls Royce. Expect more in this series throughout 2003. 

Her 2003 series is Tuscan doors, featuring some intricate doors from Tuscany that are transformed from black and white into simply beautiful works of art.  She expects to continue creating doors, windows, landscapes and European scenes from the photos taken in 2002, and looks forward to handcoloring many images from this trip.

2006 saw the addition of several tall bearded iris images, which reflects Dinah's gardening love.  Check out Fashion Show, Hemstitched, and Honey Glazed.  In 2007 she's continuing her work on a series of orchid photos, and completing a foursome of Washington State ferry photos which will be available in a boxed set of cards.

And last but not least, Dinah is working on a book idea that would combine many of her handcolored images with some original poetry in a coffee-table hardback book.  She would love to share some of the inspiration that she's been blessed with, in a simple and beautiful package that can be enjoyed time after time.  We'll keep you posted as this concept develops further!