a minor in Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art in 1994 from Principia College, in Illinois. As a post-graduate, Kesra traveled for 2 months in France, England, and Scotland, with 17 other art majors from the college, studying, sketching and painting. For the year of 1995, she toured 17 US states and 6 European countries with "Cast E" of Up With People. Encouraged by friends, family and her own passion to express herself artistically, she returned to Middletown in 1996 to paint landscapes professionally.

She still travels whenever possible, with camera in hand, grasping the excitement of the natural landscape in her mind and imagining future paintings. In addition to painting and teaching private art lessons, she is also involved with Through The Eyes of Children; The Rwanda Project, as a Project Coordinator.

  works mainly in gouache, a medium similar to watercolor. Her paintings portray the rich colors, dramatic moods and cohesive shapes of the water, landforms and skies reflective of her worldwide travels. "I find a thrill in the constantly changing dialogue between light/shadow and nature. For me, painting is about capturing that excitement and translating it onto paper." Also a primary source of inspiration for her work is the relationship and balance between man and nature. "So often one needs to look hard to find nature in man's world. I am always inspired when I must look hard to find man in the world of nature."