Born in the Netherlands and based in Aruba since 1991, Diana Hopman Betjes discovered her artistic calling in 1999 at an oil painting workshop in Scottsdale, Arizona. After exploring oils she embraced acrylics and has since built a playful, tactile practice that crosses painting, collage and craft. Diana paints on traditional canvas as well as on wooden boxes and driftwood, and assembles layered collages using repurposed paper. She also practices glass bead-making, mosaic, pottery and ceramics — bringing a hands-on, craft-oriented sensibility to her studio work.
A lifelong curiosity about travel, maps and history shapes Diana’s signature approach: she collects and reclaims old maps, stamps, encyclopedias and travel magazines and uses them as textured backdrops and narrative elements in her paintings. The subject matter is unmistakably island — pineapples, palm trees, cutlery, turtles and varied sea life appear across her pieces — driven in part by the energy and adventures of her surfing, snorkeling and scuba-diving children. Diana’s works are displayed in galleries and shops across Aruba, she is a long-time participant of the Aruba Art Fair, and in 2023 and 2024 Post Aruba commissioned her to design five postage stamps and a “first day of issue” envelope, still available at the post office.
