About me

Diana & Doll

Hey there, I’m Diana. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an artist. In a former life as an Art Director for tech and Fortune 500 companies, through my present-day pastural world of putting creation to canvas from my farmhouse art studio, art has continued to shape my world.

Be it drawing portraits of classmates on the playground in grade school, logging idea after idea in sketchbooks as a teen, or landing my first professional job through art, expressing myself creatively has always been a central theme for me.

I love to create and am comfortable in almost any medium: from oils to pen and ink, dollmaking, quilting, & woodworking. I’ve been a featured artist in various art shows, news & media outlets.

I have also had my work collected globally, been a featured speaker, sat on Pacific Northwest art boards, and connected with like-minded creative people worldwide.

Artist Diana Crites at painting table

About Renegade Handmade

Art Festival Booth Woebegone Art
My booth at a recent art festival in the Pacific Northwest

Being an independent artist, I have encountered a couple of truths — first: marketing your art is difficult. When you create, the art itself is the goal — not learning how to use social media for marketing yourself, knocking out funny gifs on digital applications to win some attention, figuring out selling platforms, or knowing how to approach galleries for wall space. 

I created Renegade Handmade, in part, to feature art and artists that I love — and to lift just a fraction of that burden.

Second: creating something is intimidating. Artists are often introverted and focused  — spending just 10 minutes on Amazon or Dick Blick is often enough to make your head spin. Art products can all look the same for the uninitiated — with unhelpful reviews or unreliable product information. 

No matter what you think of the word “Artist” – you can create something beautiful & expressive. You can create. What you may need is just need a little guidance

I highlight products that I’ve used myself, trust, or fulfill the requirements to help make creating less intimidating & more productive.

My hope with Renegade Handmade is that you’ll discover something unique (and buy it) or uncover a product that helps you create something new (with less stress along the way.)