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Alessandra’s bio in a nutshell
Alessandra was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, and grew up in Moscow, Washington DC, New York and Rome.
During those years, Alessandra enjoyed sketching – faces, facial expressions, faces with hats, dancers. In recent years, she has taken on oil painting and draws her inspiration from trees, flowers, mountains, water and hidden sources of light. Her favorite painter is Rembrandt.
Alessandra now lives in Culpeper, VA, with her pastor husband Bruce Lugn. She has a son who lives in Orlando, FL with his family, and three daughters who live in San Diego, CA with their spouses.
Her passion for visual arts is complemented by her love of the violin. She plays in Bruce's two churches and with a country music ensemble, the Three Hits and a Miss, for assisted living facilities and senior centers (including the Culpeper Senior Center). She works as a translator/ interpreter.

My Passion for Painting
I would like my art to convey a sense of serenity and a positive outlook.
In some paintings there may be an added layer of quiet solitude or hopeful patience. A friend commented that my paintings are “visual meditations”.
I have always sketched. At school, for boredom. With friends and with my nieces, for fun. I started drawing faces in high school. Over the years, I added details - smiles, frowns, serious faces. I studied faces in different positions: front, slightly turned, profile, looking up, looking down. I had a “hat period”. I studied heads with hats in all possible shapes and positions. So challenging!! So much fun!! However, I never considered becoming an artist. I became a translator/ interpreter. I traveled. I met interesting people. I love my job.
The call to paint came just a few years ago inspired by the positivity of painter Bob Ross. One year, for Christmas, my son gave me a canvas and some paint. That is when I started, with the instrumental support of my son and my husband. And then the support of friends.
Just like for my drawings of faces and hats, I strive to reproduce my vision with utmost precision. I study the vision (or the picture) methodically. I research online any “how to” tips, tutorials. Then I start painting. For a few days it looks nothing like what I have in mind. But little by little, with patience and lots of tweaks and repaints, it gets closer and closer. And then it happens: I get a physical emotion when I look at it. For me, that feeling means that I am almost there. At that point, I need to be careful and not “over-tweak it”, and just let it go.

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