A San Diego native, and graduate of UCLA Vanessa Christie has created art all her life. She studied art at City College, and Studio Art Center International, in Florence Italy before transferring to UCLA. Her art is inspired by music, poetry, mythology, the natural world, and especially by imagination and dreams. Her work is also influenced by her travels both in the United States and Europe. Much of her work features natural images such as trees, and constructed objects such as masks. Each of her paintings is an attempt to tell a story without words.