Hello! Welcome! My name is Grace, and I’m so glad you’re here. I hope you are well. Here’s a little about me:

I was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, and I was always immersed in art in some way, shape, or form. My father is a zydeco musician, and my late mother was constantly drawing, painting, practicing calligraphy, or teaching herself stained glass. Our home was filled with creativity, though I didn’t fully realize it until my twenties, when I began my career in art. I was always drawing in the margins of my notes and tests as a way to organize the clutter in my head, assuming everyone did the same. In hindsight, my teachers seemed to know I was an artist long before I did.

My parents enrolled me in after-school art classes at the age of seven, and I continued formal art education through high school. When it came time for university, however, I chose what I believed to be a more practical path and entered nursing school, convinced there was no viable future in art. After three rigorous years, I found myself desperately searching for something to quench my creative thirst. A dear friend told me about a painting program in Florence, Italy that focused on Sacred Art. During the summer between clinical rotations, I decided to take the leap.

In the summer of 2022, I spent six weeks in an intensive figure drawing and painting program, where I had my first experience with oil painting. I was completely enamored. Oil painting became a puzzle I felt compelled to solve. I knew then that I couldn’t return to nursing; I had to pursue this calling. That fall, I left university and began bartending full-time to prepare for my move to Italy the following year.

I went on to study oil painting for two years at the Scuola di Arte Sacra Firenze, where I learned the fundamentals of classical drawing and oil painting, modeled after the great masters of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Florence opened the door to a world I never dreamed I would be part of. Art surrounded me everywhere I went; it was truly magical. I met some of the most talented artists in the world, many of whom were my age, much to my surprise. My time in Florence ignited a fire within me and showed me that I was capable of making art my life’s work. I am forever grateful for that experience.

I currently reside in my beautiful hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana. My work focuses on family portraiture and Catholic Sacred Art. I hope to always be a paintbrush in the hand of God—an instrument of His peace.