Rita Cirillo

After 18 years as a software engineer, Rita Cirillo decided to 'Live the dream.' In 2005, she gave up her day job to pursue her art career in earnest.

Her artistic journey began in Hawaii in 1974, where she lived and studied oil painting for four years. In 1978, she moved to Colorado and expanded her art horizon by taking up pastels and pen and ink.

In the 80s, financial and personal necessity sent her on parallel quests for knowledge and physical coordination. She attended the University of Colorado, where she obtained a B.S. with honors in Computer Science; and the American Black Belt Academy where she earned a First Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.

When her three children were able to fend for themselves, the call of the easel could no longer be ignored. By 1992, she had begun her dual path: designing software by day and painting by night. In 1998, she discovered the joys and frustrations of workshops and art classes, attending both the Loveland Art Academy in Loveland and the Cottonwood Art Academy in Colorado Springs.

In 1999, she traveled to France to study plein air painting with Ian Roberts at l'Atelier Saint Luc, in Provence. It was there that she discovered her love for painting outdoors. She has since had the privilege of painting in workshops with such great artists as Skip Whitcomb, Jay Moore, Lorenzo Chavez, Chuck Mardosz, Kim English, Tim Deibler and Ken Auster.

When she's not painting, biking, hiking or cross-country skiing, she is working on the renovation of her 'Dream dump' in Victor, Colorado.

Rita is represented by The Rice Gallery in Leawood, Kansas, The Gallery at Rich Designs in Colorado Springs and on line at www.ritacirillo.com

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