Debra Holladay’s art career began at the age of two when she drew a picture on the
belly of her cooperative dog using a tube of her mother’s red lipstick. This was
followed by a crayon wall mural hidden unsuccessfully behind a chest of drawers.  
After numerous other creative activities Debra received her Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree in Advertising Design in 1981.

Later that same year, she moved to New York City. There she studied portrait and
figure painting in oils for six years at the Art Student’s League of New York with
Hilary H. Holmes. Debra served as Mr. Holmes' class monitor for nearly four years
during that time. In addition, she studied landscape painting en plein air with Kurtis
Hansen for three summers in Central Park. Both instructors had studied in Boston in
the atelier of R.H. Ives Gammell until his death in 1981.  

Ms. Holladay painted regularly en plein air in Prospect Park, Brooklyn until she
relocated to Southern California in 1996. This training and experience has provided
her with a solid foundation for pursuing her love of painting in the traditional manner
and her love of painting the figure and landscape, in particular.