After expressing herself finger painting in a baby’s natural medium, it took Vivienne a half century to find her artistic niche’, this time with brushes and oils.

Vivienne (nee Lee) Bellisario was Australia’s National Female Fencing Champion at the age of 16 and by 18 she was road racing her Kawasaki 900.  Neither has anything to do with her painting, it’s just neat to know.

Her first portraits were of her husband, daughter and granddaughter. With family obligations were out of the way, Vivienne turned to coastal landscapes. 

Having been raised in Woolgoolga, a small Australian beach town (it recently erected it's first stop sign) on the coast north of Sydney, it's little wonder Vivienne is so keen on painting beachscapes.

Surprised by her natural talent, her husband said he would subsidize her in a respected art school.   So, during their annual trip to Australia Vivienne enrolled in the Julian Ashton School of Art in Sydney.  

When they returned to the States she began working under the tutelage of known and respected portrait artist, Jeremy Lipking and also under the instruction of Julia Diller of Carter Sexton Art in Studio City, California.

                                   Written by her loving husband