I was born in Washington D.C., the daughter of Charles Dunn, a prominent Washington Artist, illustrator and caricaturist. As a child I spent many an hour in his studio filling up tablet after tablet with picture stories. Generally they were often mystery stories. My father never tried to teach me, but instead encouraged me, kept me in paper and pencils, and allowed my imagination to have free reign.

In the sixties, I became a student at the American University. I enjoyed my classes there and still remember my first oil painting class with Robert Gates, who had been a friend of my father's. Being a freshman with no experience in oil painting, I was quite intimidated by the whole process. There were some students using house brushes on giant canvases doing abstracts. Lothar Brabanski was another teacher who stood out. I believe he was German and he spoke with a thick accent. Although I only understood about half of what he said, it was revolutionary for me. I absorbed much from AU, yet I still felt incomplete and yearned to learn how to paint from a realist perspective.

Following graduation I spent several years working at the National Gallery of Art, For the next decade I continued to struggle with my painting. During those years my favorite artists became George Inness, Edward Hopper, and Charles Burchfield. Each of these painters had a different element to add to the soup of my own aspirations.

It was in l980 that I discovered the Torpedo Factory of Alexandria, Virginia. I found great teachers there, who led me in the direction I had been searching for. Joining the Art League gave me the privilege of studying under great teachers such as Diane Tesler (Oil and Pastel) Dannie Dawson (Oil and Portraiture) and Robert Liberace (drawing). Soon I was juried into the Torpedo Artists Association and enjoyed many years working in their artist studios. I did quite a lot with pastel but by the nineties I had picked up oil again.

In 2002 Greene county Virginia had become my permanent residence and I converted an old one room school house into a studio. I am a member of the Art Guild and Firnew Farm Artists Circle. I frequently exhibit with both groups and am represented in the Palette Gallery in Stanardsville.

Perhaps because of my childhood love of telling mystery tales with pictures, my paintings will always have some of that quality to them. I loved painting urban buildings such as the Bayou in Georgetown at night. Here in Greene county I am drawn to deserted buildings, evening scenes, approaching storms, anything that hints of the hidden, unknown and mysterious.

Memberships, Gallery Representation , Current Shows

Firnew Artists' Circle
The Art Guild of Greene County
The National league of American Pen Women
The Palette Gallery, Stanardsville, VA
President, Foundation For Twentieth Century Artists of Washington D.C. Inc.
     Awarded first prize, Maryland Biennial, National League of American Pen Women
     Awarded first prize, for portrait, Maryland Biennial, National League of American Pen Women
     Award, All Media Show, Art League, Alexandria, VA
     Awarded Cover Painting, National League of American Pen Women Centennial Exhibit

+++++

Most Current show- through January 2017
     Firnew Farm Artist's Circle