About The Artist

I’ve loved Art since I was a child. I’ve always been enthralled by nature, various landscapes, organic plant matter and animals.
Being outdoors is preferable to me. I’m an avid hiker and enjoy all season walks, admiring the provoked changes. I also enjoy pilgrimages, biking the greenways and rail trails.

I dabble in growing a garden with veggies, herbs and flowers. I can also be found canning, drying, cultivating, and tincturing the fruits of my labor. 

My creativity includes, but isn’t limited to, playing the piano, crocheting, baking, and writing. 

With writing I’ve always been enraptured with poetry, especially freestyle and haiku. I’m currently working on a memoir, and have been for around a year. I enjoy flash fiction as well, which is a 50-1500 word short story. When I write flash fiction, I tend to write realistic fiction. Writing is also very calming to me. I feel it is essentially like painting a picture with words, and to me that is beautiful.

While I pet sit many animals, I’m always excited to go home and spend time with my cat, Jasper (as shown on right). He is a very cuddly boy, but takes a while to warm up to new faces. He loves going outside, often times spending the evenings with me on our deck. He’s a Tonkinese, which is a mix between of Siamese and a Burmese. 

A year after my husband passed away I went to Spain to hike the Camino De Santiago. It had been my dream to travel to Europe for a very long time. Before his passing, he wrote a number of love letters to me. In one he wrote that he wanted me to fulfill my dream of traveling to Europe, specifically Paris, France. 

I hiked the mountains of Virginia, walking through my grief. After deep contemplation I decided I would train to walk the Camino De Santiago pilgrimage in honor of my husband. Upon completion I would bike the countryside of France and end my last few days in Paris. And that is exactly what I did. My time in Spain and France was wonderful, and I am eternally grateful that I went.  

Walking through quaint Spanish villages with cobble stone houses,  roads and ancient churches I felt I was stepping into a century ago era. Mile after mile I traipsed through an assortment of terrain replete with eucalyptus farms, wind turbines, rocky, sandy, paved, and mountainous footpaths. 

After a long day of hiking anywhere from sixteen to twenty-six miles a day I stopped at a variety of Bed and Breakfast, boarding houses, and pensioners for the night. Most included breakfast and dinner. Those in bigger towns or cities had several restaurants, pubs, shops, pharmacy, etc while others were in rural locations. Regardless it was nice to have a shower and a good nights sleep in order to begin all over again the next morning.

My trek did not end in Santiago. I decided to continue on to Finisterre, Spain. It is known as “end of the world” finis terrae translates in Latin to “end of the earth.” While not the absolute westernmost point of Europe, it retains its historical significance as a place of pilgrimage and symbolic closure for many. It did not disappoint and proved to be a very pivotal experience for me.

Biking the countryside of France’s Loire Valley was no less influential. I felt like I was living in a Disney movie! Peddling past fields of sunflowers, leeks, fennel and lavender. Passing by River Channels, house boats,  picturesque villages and having lunch on the lawn of Castles more than a century old. I traveled through Averdon, Chambon-sur-Cisse, Chambord, Chaumont-sur-loire, Cheverny, Chouzy-sur-Cisse, Courbouzon, Courmemin, Fosse, Huisseau-sur-Cosson, La Chapelle-Vendomoise, Saint-Dye-sur-Loire, Amboise, Blois. The topography was stunning! 

Paris was just as consequential. I walked no less than eighteen miles a day touring multiple art museums. Musee de l’Orangerie, Musee d’Orsay, the Louvre. Touring the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles Palace, Sainte-Chapelle, Seine River Cruise, Canal Saint-Martin and the biggest Farmers Market I’ve ever seen. 

I plan to return to France in the future. I’d love to visit coastal of France once I’ve become more fluent in French!

Mission Statement: Art is a world of endless possibilities. I’d like to experience as many of those possibilities as I can in this lifetime. I have endeavored in a variety of careers that have encompassed my interest, expanded my outlook and knowledge. My mission is to continue to inspire and be inspired in as many aspects of art and its creation. 

I am at a juncture of my life that I would like to take the time to focus on enhancing my own artwork. There are several series of paintings I would like to explore the Surrealist and impressionistic realm in mixed media. It would be wonderful to have dedicated time for these series alone without the everyday distractions of work and daily chores.

Born 1962 in Charlotte North Carolina
Graduated 1980 E.C. Glass High School
Graduated Mary Baldwin College 1998

1982-1986 Owner and Operator of Cottage Comforts
Producing and retailing Quilts, Afghans, Handcrafted gifts, Tole Painting,, refinishing and custom painting furniture, and Cottage Cards.

1987-1992  Owner Operator Of Distinctly Denise Studio GalleryTaught individual and group art classes ages 4-Adult. Retail matting and framing, framed art and art supplies.Art Coordinator and Specialist for Staunton and Augusta County Recreation Departments.Instructor Summer Studio Staunton Fine Arts CenterTaught Art Classes At Mary Baldwin College and Blue Ridge Community College
Attendee and art exhibitor thirty shows per year from Virginia to Pennsylvania.

1993-2003 Owner Operator of Art Essentials
Taught individual and group art classes ages 4-Adult. Art Coordinator Specialist for Staunton, Augusta and Waynesboro,Va Recreation Departments summer camps, afterschool programs, Gifted Art Programs and Artist in Residence for Six Elementary Schools.

Makeup Artist, Set Designer, and Special effects Design for 

 Arts Theater Group

Designer and Creator of multiple Brochures, Business Cards, Logos, T-Shirt and menu designs

Created Illustrations for Botanical Gardens

Matting and Framing, custom Paintings

Mural Painting for Augusta County Social Services, Shenanarts Theater, Ballet Box and McCormick Theater

2003-2009 Recreational Therapist at the Commonwealth Center Of Virginia

2009-2013 Region Ten: Project Coordinator for dual diagnosed Adults

2014-2018 Owner Operator of Veggie Run and Meal Run: Farm to Table Meals and homemade salsa, jams, preserves, desserts, goat cheese, etc.

2023-2025 Cake Love Owner Operator Specialized baking: Gluten, Dairy, Soy and Nut Free Cakes, Pies, Cookies, etc.Fresh and Organically and home sourced ingredients.

Children’s book Illustrations and character creations.

Selling framed artworks and Cottage Cards