Born in Troy, New York, Anita Fitzgerald began her art education with the Junior Art League of Troy, as a young teenager, and continued in a creative career as an architectural draftsman while attending Russell Sage College. Later she worked as a graphic designer in New York City while raising a family and attended art classes at the College of New Rochelle in their Women's Studies Program.

In 1968, the Fitzgeralds moved from the New York City area to Utica, New York. Anita continued her education and received degrees from Mohawk Valley Community College and SUNY College of Technology where she prepared to be a graphic design teacher. While teaching in the Fine Arts Division of Cazenovia College, Anita earned a Masters Degree at SUNY Oswego, and continued to paint her watercolor scenes of the Mohawk Valley and attend workshops with noted area artists. She attended workshops on Monhegan Island, off the coast of Maine, as well as, workshops throughout the eastern seaboard from Toronto to Florida.

Anita has recently retired from an 18 year career as an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Cazenovia College. Since retirement, she has devoted much of her time to painting and preparing to show her work, but still shares her expertise with students through the continuing education division and children's classes.

Artist's Statement:
Traditional supplies including Arches 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper, Winsor & Newton Watercolor Paint, Robert Simmons #10, #12, and ¾" White Sable Brushes, Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid and a spray bottle are the tools used to create many of my paintings. I like to experiment also with new colors, different paper weights, and techniques.

An essential factor in the success of my pieces is that the paintings are created on location. I usually work in transparent watercolor with a tilted board to allow surprises to happen with color mixing on the paper. My focus is to capture shadows playing against light as well as the relationships of color and value. I try to capture the scene in a simplistic impressionistic style rather than a detailed realistic style using the plein air vista as my greatest inspiration. My challenge is capturing the visual scene along with my feelings of the moment so that the viewer may also experience the visual and emotional impact of the landscape.