About The Artist

British born and educated, now residing primarily in California Debra considers herself to be a self taught artist, influenced by many of today's living contemporary realist painters . Her creative journey has spanned a life time, in her youth she became entranced by the technical skills of the Pre Raphaelites and French realists from the 19th century such as Bouguereau and Jules Baisten. Relocating to Cornwall gave her the delightful opportunity to frequent the Penlee House Museum, which exhibits the Newlyn School artists, founded by Stanhope Forbes in the late 19th century. Debra was amongst a group of artists that took day-trips to the quaint fishing port to both, soak up some spectacular Cornish coastlines and gain inspiration from the captivating realism depicted in the paintings of everyday Cornish life. In 1998 Debra graduated with a BA Hons degree in illustration in Falmouth Art University . During these studies she was introduced to oil painting, although the majority of her technical skills were developed through exploration post college, she did learn some valuable lessons on how to tackle unique visual projects conceptually and meet tight deadlines. Sitting with her thoughts and grief during the pandemic was the catalyst for a new artistic direction of contemporary figurative realism. Inspired by feminine narratives she began to focus her attention towards visual story telling in an attempt to celebrate valiant women she adored in her community.