Anna Hamilton ( Anna Rocco ) grew up in Saratoga Springs , New York. She has been drawing and painting since she was a young child. She spent summers drawing horses at the local thoroughbred track and the rest of the time using her own pets as subjects. Her love of art continued through school, followed by attendance at the The Sage Colleges for Fine Arts and Art Therapy. After college Anna moved to Williamsburg, Virginia where she started drawing pastel portraits at theme parks and events. She continued over the years to paint children and animal portraits in addition to artwork. Anna moved to Tampa, Florida in 1998 and then to Dunedin, Florida in 1999, where the world of murals opened up for Anna. She started doing murals for a local faux finishing company. After realizing this was her niche, she started her own business. Soon many of the small businesses in Dunedin had Anna painting murals for them. Local residents recognized and admired her work and hired Anna to paint in their homes. Word of mouth spread and soon Anna’s murals were popping up everywhere. Now she works with a high end interior design firm doing custom wall finishes and continues to work with her own clients to make their homes and businesses beautiful. She considers the Dogedin dogwall on Skips bar and grill in downtown Dunedin to be one of her greatest achievements. Over 400 people have donated to have their beloved pets portraits painted on the mural. That mural has spawned a new way the help people and their pets. In late 2010 Anna and her friend, Dawn Carney founded Murals for Mutts, Inc. Anna looks forward to bringing joy to many more people by creating dog walls in many different cities in the days to come.
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