In her hometown of North Providence, R.I. , Carla D’aguanno realized she was meant to be an artist at a very young age. She recalls her high school teachers commissioning her to paint their children and grandchildren in high school. After graduating from Otis/Parsons School of Design with a Bachelor’s Degree in fine Art, she began her career as a  movie poster artist, illustrating posters for movie advertisements companies in Los Angeles. she eventually returned to  her native New England and began illustrating young adult and romance covers for New York publishing companies including Bantam, Doubleday, Pocket Books and Harper Collins.

 

After Carla was married she soon realized that she needed to paint from the heart and the subjects of her affections. Thus she turned to fine art and began painting women, children, horses and Western genre. Her love for the West clearly is evident in her work. She describes her technique as expressive representational art. She claims her greatest challenge is bringing the beauty of her subjects to life on canvas. Her greatest source of inspiration comes from her faith in God who has given her the skill and ambition to paint since childhood. Compelled by the breathtaking beauty of the Western plains, she often depicts her subjects in a setting that reflects her love for the captivating landscapes of the region. Her challenge lies in capturing the innocence and beauty of her subjects to glorify the Creator, who in her opinion is the greatest artist of all.

 

Carla was awarded the 1st Place Gallery Choice Award from Art Trends magazine and the 2nd Place People’s Choice Awards at the Florida Invitational. Her Keeper Of The Flock painting took 3rd Place in the Women Artists Of The West ( East Meets West Show), judged by Nancy Guzik. She also received the Horses In Art magazine’s Advertising and Editorial Award for Back From The Dusty Trail.  She was named the recipient of the John Steven Jones Purchase Award at the 21st Bosque Conservatory Art Classic, judged by acclaimed artist Martin Grelle. The piece titled Sabino Gold won the coveted top award in the show and is now part of the Bosque Conservatory’s private collection. Sunshine & Sweet Melon recently won the second place award in the Oil Painters of America on-line showcase competition for Spring.

Her works were given the Gold Award and Best Presentation Award in thew WAA 8th Annual Show at the Pearce Museum. Now a member of American plains artists she recently received the Fine Art Connoisseur Publisher’s award in her debut show at the prestigious Pearce Museum in Coricana, Texas.

 

Today Carla’s originals can be seen and purchased in the following prestigious galleries across the USA: Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, OK, the Fredericksburg Good Art Co. in Texas, the Concetta D. Gallery in New Mexico, Cutter & Cutter Gallery in Florida and Studio Gallery in Texas. Her group affiliations include Oil Painters of America, American Plains Artists, ARC(Art Renewal Center), NOAP (National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society) and AWA  ( American Women Artists). Several of her images are licensed on puzzles, greeting cards, prints calendars and other products being sold in the U.S. and Europe.