Artist's Statement

"I moved to New York City in 1977 to attend Parson's School of Design. During this time I apprenticed with museum collected and SoHo exhibiting artist, Michael Gallagher. Eventually, I ended up pursuing a career on Madison Avenue becoming an associate creative director at several ad agencies creating TV commercials for consumer giants. Essentially I sketched storyboards with a writer and presented the ideas to clients. On approval we would hire a film director then film the commercials. It was the creating of the storyboards for television that became a launching pad for my paintings.

"When I was not in film productions, I painted watercolors which I displayed and sold out of my family's NYC restaurant, Beach Café. In 1996, my husband had the crazy idea of moving to his hometown of Raleigh, NC and opens an Italian restaurant. We literally pulled up roots and opened Caffe Luna in 1996. I have been painting full time ever since.

"I multitask by nature and paint in both oils and acrylic, with brushes and or palette knives on canvas, panel or masonite depending on the subject. Being part Italian, I am naturally drawn to Italian people and culture thus I have ongoing oils of Italian scenes portraying the enduring beauty and intrigue of places like; Portofino, Vencie, Tuscany, Florence, Lake Como, Bellagio, and Rome. My subject matter also includes things I enjoy in my day to day life. In the past few years I have been painting a great deal en plein air and enjoy the excitement and spontaneity of this style of painting."