Polly LaPorte, a California fine art painter was born in San Francisco 1959, grew up in Placerville and currently lives in Sacramento. Her earliest exposure to art was as a young girl. Polly’s grandmother, Ethel Pierce Nerger was a San Francisco artist who now has paintings in the Crocker Art Museum permanent collection.

As a child Polly remembers spending time with her grandmother making art. Art supplies were kept nearby in a special drawer both at home and at grandma’s house. Life in Placerville shaped her art life, starting in grammar school with winning a blue ribbon at the El Dorado County Fair Art Show. Awarded an art scholarship, she attend Sugarloaf Art Camp, where she returned each summer as a student. She became a teacher at camp, then the art director. She was inspired by the simple act of painting and drawing straight from the heart, putting on canvas the natural wonders and images that moved her most.

Polly graduated with a BFA at UC Davis, taking several classes from Wayne Thiebaud. It was while she was taking a figure painting class with Thiebaud that she became focused on capturing the human figure and how to use dynamic color. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine art and went to work in the commercial arts. Graphic design and broadcast design became her profession, leading to her position as Art Director at the abc affiliate television station, News10 in Sacramento. While working in television she won an Emmy award for animation, a Sacramento Ad Club award, A PBS Gold award, and a Telly award for graphic design. This month one of her paintings was chosen by Jibe in Natomas to be used on a community banner. Last summer her work was collected by patrons at the Clarksburg Library Fund raiser. Polly continues her graphic design freelance work with Crocker Branding, a Sacramento based Ad Agency.

Polly joined the daily painting movement in 2014 after leaving her job in television. Her dedication to improve her painting skills led her to study with Terry Miura Studios and to take master painting workshops by Craig Nelson, Sarah Sedwick, Bobbi Baldwin, Victoria Brooks, Philippe Gandiol, and John Poon. During this new fine art chapter, Polly LaPorte has shared her joy and used her fine art skills to create colorful paintings and drawings that tell a story. Polly also teaches private art classes in her studio. Polly’s dearest wish had always been that her artwork would be a messenger of happiness and inspiration to others – a message to slow down, appreciate the little details in life, and to look for beauty in the world around us. Dedication and singular-minded focus on the ultimate goal of improving her craft is making Polly LaPorte, a young artist with a brush from the small country town of Placerville, California a collectible artist today.