Occupation: I am an artist. I am a trained oil painter, but I do a bit of everything now. I've done graphic design and website design. I have a BFA in art history with a double major in medieval history, a BA in art, and a MS in international affairs. After I finished working in Africa and came back to the states, when the recession hit, I was having a hard time finding assignments. I decided to go do the atelier programs in New York City. I was at Grand Central Atelier in a place called Janus (like the Roman God of two faces). I was there for three years all together. [With art] you're always learning, I have a gagillion books in my library about painting. I'm working on a collage of an ocean wave. With oil painting you have to let layers dry, so I always have other things going at the same time.

Family: My husband, Richard, and I have two kids: a daughter named Satira Moffat and a son, Shandon Moffat. She's 27, and he's 26. We have two grandchildren: Sage, who will be 2½ soon, and Sawyer, who is 2 months. My son-in-law is Harrison, he's married to my daughter. My grandkids, daughter, and son-in-law live in Wilmington, N.C.

Pets: We have two dogs. Their names are Mersleau and Soupcon. Mersleau is a 6-year-old yellow lab and Soupcon is a 12-year-old black lab. We had a chocolate lab who passed away two years ago. We also have a cat who thinks he's a dog, Buttons. He plays fetch, he comes when you call him, he begs at the table, he's just a fuzzy gray dog. He hangs with the dogs, he sleep with them. He's a dog in cat form.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We have been here 12 years, the longest I have lived anywhere. My husband wanted the privacy and space, because we came from the city. We have three acres of woods now.

What do you like to do in your free time? Besides art, I read a lot. I knit, I do yoga, I travel.

Do you have a favorite book? Labyrinths. That's probably my favorite. It is a collection of short stories. They make you really think. I try to read a lot of stuff from other cultures. I'm reading One Part Woman, which is by an author named Murugan. It's about Indian culture. I'm also reading More: A Novel by Gandhi. It is about a 9-year-old boy in Turkey, and it deals with the refugee crisis.There is one book I always reread, Jorge's

What is your favorite travel destination? We are leaving for Languedoc and Catalonia in a week. Languedoc is a region of Southern France, and Catalonia is the northern part that borders along that in Spain, where Barcelona is. It is the heart of the Catalan country. There is a lot of history. We are going to look at Cathar Castles and the city of Carcassonne, where they had the crusades.

The outdoors. We love the open spaces in Newtown. We take our dogs for walks at Fairfield Hills all the time. We like all the parks and the views from Holcombe Hill.What is the best thing about Newtown?

Who or what has been the greatest influence in your life? Art in general. My mother tells the story of how I was a difficult child and the only way she could get me to be quiet and behave would be to bring me to an art museum. I would shut up and wander from painting to painting. I still do that. I am fascinated by the process and colors and story.

If you could choose one person to spend the day with, who would you choose? Artemisia Gentileschi. She is an Italian paintress during the Renaissance. Her father was a famous painter. It would be interesting to talk to her about what it was like to be a woman who wanted to be an artist in a very patriarchal society and how she managed to do what she did and survive.

Lately it has been a woman named Yasmine Hamdan. She is an Arab singer. I also like the new song "Soy Yo" by the Spanish group Bomba Estereo.What is your favorite music genre?