Danielle Auriemma - D'Amico's art career didn't career begin until she was thirty years old when she started attending drawing classes in New York City. Despite the challenges of work, a husband and home and caring for a sick mother she succeeded in graduating with a BFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. She is now a award winning artist and exhibits regularly throughout and beyond the tri-state area and has had her work published nationally.She works as a fine artist and illustrator out of her home studio in Gilette, NJ. Working in traditional mediums, primarily oils and charcoal, Ms. Auriemma - D'Amico's images convey a slightly stylized realism. "Less is more," with her muted monochromatic or limited palette. Her cropped images put the subject "in your face," giving the viewer an initial dramatic jolt, followed by an emotional connection. Since Danielle was trained as an commercial artist, her subject matter varies, but the pieces closest to her heart are from her travels and depicts the spirit of places once visited. Danielle's biggest influences are artists such as Georgia O'Keefe, and Caravaggio. This is evident by her technique of either eliminating or limiting the backgrounds so that the focus remains on the primary figure, thus reducing her compositions to simplified form.