Shari was introduced to oil painting by well-known Virgin Island artist and teacher Tom St. Vincent. After discovering her great love for portraiture, she continued to study at workshops in Taos, New Mexico with master artist David Leffel and Gregg Kreutz. She went on to The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts concentrating on drawing and painting the figure from life. Finally, she spent four summers studying classical realism at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy where she focused on portraiture, the figure and still life. Shari has lived and worked on St. Thomas since 1977.