I grew up on a 45 acre farm, 10 miles south of Annapolis Maryland. Born into a family of classically trained artists, I spent every summer in Provincetown Massachusetts studying alongside my parents at the Cape Cod School of Art. I attended Severn School in Maryland, the Pennsylvania University School of Art, and Rollins College, as well as the Art Students League in New York and studied with Ted Seth Jacob in France. Women artists have been a great influence, including my aunt Carolyn Egeli, my mother, Joanette Egeli, Frida Khalo, Camille Claudel, Gwen John, Cecilia Beau, Kathie Kollwitz, Mary Cassette, and Natalie Italiano.


I held a paint brush, before I held a pencil; my first memory is waking up on a mat, sleeping under my mother's easel in Hyannis Port, while both my parents sketched portraits on the street. I also sketched street portraits starting at age 4, charging $1 per portrait. When I was 14, my summer was spent studying with Henry Hensche at the Cape Cod School of Art. 


I don't recall making a conscious decision to become a portrait artist, it is just what I became. All conversations around our dinner table revolved around artwork, and we were often joined by many famous artists who came to study with my father. It was a unique upbringing with many advantages.  All of my siblings are artists, as well as my aunts, my cousins and my grandparents.


My personal passion is for color and I consider myself a colorist first. To paint humanity, exposing  its vulnerability, beauty and resiliency is my goal. I teach my students to follow their inner voice which will never steer them wrong.