Biography

A perfectionist at all costs, Laura Di Nello's canvas mosaic technique was the result of a painting she destroyed three days after her second marriage. Laura unsuccessfully tried to put the canvas back together, but ended up cutting it into smaller pieces, pieces that were glued and incorporated into a new painting. This trademark technique adds texture and visual interest to her work and affects color and subject in an unprecedented and intriguing manner. Her first show was in a Savannah restaurant where her paintings sold out. Murals and commissioned work, as well as her inspired works, continue to be well sought after.

Di Nello was born May 10, 1959, Chicago, Illinois, to a family of first generation Italian musicians, tailors, and blue-collar workers, all with a strong work ethic. As she was growing up, her artistic inclinations were discouraged and repressed in favor of more "serious" endeavors. She did not begin painting until the age of 30, though taking with her the family work habits, keeping a regular 8-hour painting schedule each day.

In her late twenties, while living in Savannah, GA, Laura began working in pencil and charcoal. A self-taught artist, her first oil painting efforts came after watching the work of two art students to whom she rented studio space. When she learned how to stretch canvases, painting became her passion. The mother of four, Laura's subjects tend to be strong vibrant females, reflecting the challenges and conflicts that have occurred in her past and her current everyday life.

Laura has exhibited at the Worth Museum and International Interior Design Show (Washington DC), The International Oasis Gallery and Womens Work Gallery (Savannah, GA), and was the inaugural show for the opening of the Chace-Randall Gallery. Her publications include The Chicago Tribune, Florida Magazine, House Design, and the Travel Channel, among others. Generous in spirit, Laura has also exhibited donated work at the International Cancer Alliance (Bethesda, MA), Catskill Rural AIDS Services annual auction (Roxbury, NY), and will be participating in a Chicago hospice fundraising exhibition at the Barrington Hills Country Club September 2007.