In 2010 at the age of 44, she found the courage to finally embrace life as an artist. Though holding no academic training in art, she quit all her jobs to enter the studio day after day to become a painter. The attendance of two portrait painting classes a year of at Burlington City Arts with Gail Salzman coupled with the sheer tenacity of approaching the canvas daily, has aided Dierdra in building her skills in portraiture and figurative painting. Dierdra now identifies herself as an artist and has great faith in the life her art is mapping out for her
