Home News Paintings by Nationally Recognized Artist Diana Madaras Help Inspire Students at Pima Medical Institute’s Tucson Campus

Paintings by Nationally Recognized Artist Diana Madaras Help Inspire Students at Pima Medical Institute’s Tucson Campus

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Pima Medical Institute opened its flagship campus at 2121 N. Craycroft Road in April of 2019. Along with the new building design, were paintings by Diana Madaras, who is a staple in the Tucson artists’ community and across the country.

Madaras chose Mountain Mambo as the first piece people would see upon entering the campus.

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Respiratory Therapy Student Tessa Trinidad poses next to Mountain Mambo

“This is the statement piece, the first piece you see,” said Madaras. “It is a little more abstract and contemporary, as the building is. People can stand here and see many different things.”

Madaras originally planned the piece as a one-panel work. She said she stepped back, saw dancers in the mountain, and it ultimately became the three-panel piece folks entering the more than 75,000-square-foot facility see today.

Dozens of Madaras’ works line the hallways and decorate faculty and staff offices. One of those is the most popular desert scene at Madaras’ gallery. The Pinnacle Peak Mountain scene was commissioned by the Four Seasons. Madaras said she and her husband were up before light to make sure they were able to catch the sunrise.

Madaras is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of her gallery and said she was thrilled to have her paintings be a part of Pima Medical’s new campus.

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Spirit Animals Line the Veterinary Science hallway at Pima Medical’s Tucson Campus

“We hope the students, faculty and staff will say that these paintings bring them joy,” Madaras said. “We want to bring a smile to their faces, and it’s just a great way to start the day.”

Fred Freedman, President and CEO of Pima Medical Institute believes Madaras’ work is a perfect fit.

“Art speaks to people on a personal level and can be interpreted in various ways,” said Freedman. “We are honored that an artist the caliber of Diana Madaras committed to providing her artwork to our new flagship campus. I know her pieces touch every person walking our hallways.”

Several of the pieces folks talk about are the spirit animals that line the veterinary science hallway.

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Diana Madaras poses next to her painting Fly Me To The Moon

Madaras said she had been considering creating spirit animal paintings for a long time. She said she had so much fun creating the coyote that she decided to do a few more – committing to paint 20 animals in honor of the gallery’s 20th anniversary. She did not stop at 20, and now has created 25 beautiful spirit animals.

“All the spirit animals have five things in common including a common tattoo,” Madaras said. “Every one of them has the word ‘one’ written on the animal. People come in the gallery and look for hours trying to find the tattoos. “‘One’ can mean whatever you want. To me it means we are one with the animals and we are one with the universe.”

Madaras continued, “My dad was a veterinarian, my brother is a veterinarian – I grew up at the Veterinary Hospital.”

In addition to a love of animals, Madaras is a strong believer in giving back to her community. Her foundation Art for Animals has raised more than $200,000 in the last 20 years, with donations helping dozens of charities in Southern Arizona. She is currently working with the Tucson Wildlife Center, where she has been an integral part of raising enough money to allow the Wildlife Center to hire a fulltime veterinarian on staff.

While the spirit animals are often the talk of students, all the pieces play an important role in helping students get through their day.

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Madaras’ painting First Light

“I think these paintings not only help with creativity, but they help with attitude. Being able to come in and see something beautiful really brightens up everybody’s day,” said Tessa Trinidad, Respiratory Therapy Student. “I know when I first saw the paintings in the hall, the first thing I did was take a picture and start sending to all my classmates, saying look how beautiful all this is! Moving into this building – it is so much lighter. It only makes sense to have something so colorful and beautiful to complement our new building.”

Madaras says she picked out many of the most popular images at her gallery, specifically for the school.

“My goal is to bring the beauty of the outside inside.”

That has definitely been accomplished.

For more information on Diana Madaras go to madaras.com. For information on programs offered at Pima Medical Institute or to set up a tour of the Tucson campus go to pmi.edu.

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