Born in St. Augustine, FL, Diana Patterson is the first of four daughters born to Robert "Jack" Mier and Pearl Pringle Mier.  She is sixth generation of St. Augustine; her third great grandfather is buried in St. Augustine's Tolomato Cemetery.  Earlier Mier families have been traced back to the 1400's in Mier, Spain and Cadiz, Spain.

Moving from St. Augustine in the early 1800's, Diana's great grandparents came to Palm Valley, FL, then a small settlement nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Tolomato River, now the Intra-Coastal Waterway north of St. Augustine. They built the first "Mier" house just a few hundred feet from where her grandparents later built the "big house" where Diana was brought after her birth.

​

Diana's maternal grandparents were cattle ranchers south of St. Augustine. As a young woman, her mother, along with her mother's parents and four brothers, drove cattle throughout Florida.

​

Diana's rural upbringing inspired an enormous appreciation for her natural environment. The water, plants, trees, animals, nature and flowers in her art attest that she would rather be outside than in. She had a gift for drawing at an early age. Her talent grew when she began to explore and add other mediums. As a self-taught artist, she praises her Maker for giving her these gifts and takes great JOY in sharing them.  Currently Diana is a member of the St Augustine Art Association (staaa.org), Art League of Daytona Beach (artleague.org), and the Bethel Gallery, Ponte Vedra Beach (Ponte Vedra Presbyterian) where she also serves as curator.

​

Diana and Pat moved from her "hometown" Palm Valley to a rural area of St. Augustine where they built a retirement home complete with lake, chickens, ducks, and a large garden.  That will satisfy two passions - gardening and fishing. Pat gifted Diana with a dedicated art studio overlooking the lake where Diana draws much inspiration.

​