b"Green Is My Favorite Color.Our spring cover artist, Clarita Scioscia, is an internation-ally-collected artist whose works are as popular in Europe andthe Caribbean as they are in the U.S. and throughout SouthAmerica. Born in Lima, Peru to Dutch parents, she was threeyears old when they moved to the United States. As a senior, shereceived the Studio Art Award from Tampa Preparatory School,and graduated early from the University of Tampa in 1982 witha cum laude, Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her work is characterized by an abundance of color, and anuncanny ability to capture the expressions of animals.I startwith the eyeswhen I see them looking back at me, I glimpsetheir personality and the rest falls into place.What IveLearned. (in Claritas words.)Early on, I experimented withwatercolors, batik, silk painting andacrylics. In 2012, I began painting inoil and once the oil bug bit, it would-n't let go. Theres a luminosity to oilpaint that cant be replicated with anyother medium. It makes me happy justto look at the colors.Both my father and his fatherpainted in the style of the Dutchmasters. I particularly remember anartists work that resonated with me Sarah Webber, whose animal paintingsI saw at La Posada in Santa Fe. I startedstudying her paintings, as well as themany others I had collected over theyears. My first painting brought anawakening of passion for oil paint. Icant get enough of it. I dont sleep atnight in anticipation of the nextcomposition or color combinationI might use. Painting animals comes mucheasier for me than painting land-scapes. So, one of my first paintingswas my sister-in-law's Goldendoodle,Boomer. What a fabulous dog. It tookoff from there. I love capturing theirpersonalities through their eyes andexpressions. Plus I love makingpeople happy.56THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com"