Kim Diment

At a young age Kim Diment was amazed with the natural world.  She was happiest roaming the forests and wetland areas surrounding the AuSable River close to Oscoda Michigan where she grew up. There could always be found a collection of polliwogs, frogs, insects or injured animals in the Diment (pronounced Die-ment) household.  It was very convenient that her parents were good sports concerning these things. Not many parents pull over in traffic to save a turtle crossing the road. It wasn't long until she was expressing her infatuation with animals through paintings and drawings.  Several teachers helped Kim along with this and soon she had the beginnings of a young artist.  As a teenager Kim got her first pair of binoculars.  Her dad had found them at a garage sale and she quickly took them over.  These along with a sketch pad became her travel companions.  Her favorite place to take them was Blue Horizons, a natural area on the AuSable River behind the Foote Dam. Many of her first duck stamp entries contained backgrounds from this area. At this point her evil younger brother (he wasn't really evil) dubbed her "Nature Girl".  This nickname did nothing for a teenage girl's popularity.

Surviving high school Kim traveled on to Michigan State University.  She received a major in Fine Arts and a major in Zoology.  After graduating with honors in 1985 she returned to MSU to obtain her teaching certificate. While still in college Kim made time to start entering the Michigan Duck Stamp and the Michigan United Conservation Club Wildlife Artist of the Year Competitions. Only after she started teaching art in Standish, Michigan did she start placing.  In The Michigan Duck Stamp Kim has placed in the top ten 3 times, and received a 2nd placing in 1996, a 3rd placing in 1997 and a 2nd placing for the year 2000. In the MUCC competitions she has placed 3rd and 5th with 3 top ten placing. This has given her an opportunity to have her artwork in several of the MUCC calendars. 

During the 1994 Clare First of America Wildlife festival she took a second in the birds division with her painting of two ospreys entitled “Dogfight”. In 1999 Kim placed 3rd in the 17th Annual Wyoming Conservation Stamp with her acrylic painting of a reclining white-tailed deer entitled “Bygones of Ed.” This contest was open to artists throughout the US. 

 Kim has won two second place finishes and one first place for the AuSable Valley Nature Inspired Fine Art Exhibition, a juried show held at the Kirtland Warbler Festival in Roscommon, Michigan. 

The year 2001 was the year that Kim finally gained first place recognition. During this year (after 13 previous tries) she was able to finally win the Michigan Duck stamp Competition with her painting of two ruddy ducks entitled "The Ruddy Blues". She also became the Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Artist with her canvasback painting "Spring Thaw".  One of Kim’s more prominent achievements came later in the year when she was accepted into an international juried fine art show entitled "Wildcat Art 2001".  This show, juried by Simon Combes, accepted 3 of her works: “Storm watch”, “Oliver” and “San Diary Sentinel".   With her "San Diary Sentinel" painting of a caracal she received a second placing in the small cat division of this show. "Wildcat Art 2001” purpose was to gather together the finest works of art depicting cats of the world. The show involved international artists and was held in California. 

In 2003 Kim had two paintings accepted into the prestigious "Art of the Animal Kingdom VIII" in Bennington Vermont's Center for the Arts. "Great Lakes Loons" and "Nit-Pickin" were the paintings juror Carl Brenders chose for this show.  This year, 2004, her new painting "Otter Confusion" was accepted into this show.

Kim became an avid traveler and photographer in her college years after a trip to Europe. She returned to England to do her student teaching and continue travel in Europe. While there she went on several birding exhibitions to further her knowledge to include European water fowl.  Soon the camera started to replace the binoculars and the need to see more animals from around the world was starting to burn bright. It had always been a dream of Kim's to see the animals in Africa so after saving money several years from her teaching job Kim headed to Kenya and Tanzania in the summer of 1992. The wildlife and beautiful country brought her back to southern Africa again in 1996.  She visited a more arid Namibia and Zimbabwe on this trip. The following summers (1997, 1998, 1998, 1999) she helped on photo safaris which allowed her to cover even more ground. The experiences Kim had in Africa were unbelievable so much so that she took a half year leave without pay from her teaching post in the year 2000.  In October of 2004, Kim once again journeyed to Africa on an artist/photography safari headed by Kenyan artist, Simon Combes.     The countries she has photographed and traveled are Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia. 

Another favorite place for Kim was the Galapagos Islands (1994) - (see "Galapagos"). She has also traveled and photographed in the Amazon Basin, British Columbia, Ontario, and areas of the United States. This last summer included a trip out east to do some whale watching and explore beautiful Nova Scotia. Her next travel destinations include Alaska and Australia. She knows she will travel back to Africa someday, as it is a special place to her. 

These days "Nature Girl’s" new nickname is "Green Peace." She recently completed the painting entitled "Otter Confusion" which was accepted into the prestigious "Art of the Animal Kingdom VIII" in Bennington Vermont's Center for the Arts.  She continues on with her African "Big Cat" series. The current one being "Three's Company"   She has branched out into the world of sculpture and is currently doing a series of "The Not So Glam Animals". . . porcupines, opossums and armadillos to name a few. On the more domestic front, she and her husband, Carl, have made their home on the headwaters of the great Au Sable River in Grayling Michigan.  Some things come full circle going from the end of a river back to its beginnings.  She has also started construction of a rustic cabin/studio in one of her most favorite locations in the world . . .  the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

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