"Raconteuse" Painting

A painter born and raised in Los Angeles, Denise grew up in a family of visual artists, including her father and grandfather, who were both cinematographers. Denise learned the importance of framing and lighting to set a scene and the power of stringing scenes together to tell a compelling story.

After graduating from California State University, Northridge, Denise worked as an Illustrator, Muralist, and Graphic Designer before discovering painting with acrylics and colored pencil.

Inspired largely by traveling with family and what she encounters in everyday life, Denise lives with her husband, son, and dog in Los Angeles.


My paintings are impressions of the scenes and situations that I encounter abroad and in daily life. They illustrate scenes from the stories that surround us, individual frames from a longer constantly evolving film.

My current work centers on my consideration of the relationships that develop between us and around us; how our common experiences affect us collectively and influence us individually. What causes us to become lost and find out way together, how we ultimately all live with each other inspires me, and my images are inspired by these encounters.

Stories surround us. Color, movement, and body language combine and contrast to illustrate these moments. What do we bring to a story, and what do learn from being a part of it? What we create together. how we grow together, how we develop an understanding of each other together.