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She was born knowing her destiny to be an artist! As a little one her art won ribbons and her poems won awards at the Marin County Fair. In High School she placed first in a state wide art competition to
design 'sign age' for the movie, "The Candidate". She never used the art scholarship or met Robert Redford.
Gifted with both the ability to write and an obsession to do art, Delmas followed her Dad's advise and changed majors, no art degree! Graduated in 1976 with a BA in Communications with major studies in marketing from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. She says, "the decision to change majors is the reason I am able to paint my passion and then find a market to share it."
Listed in
Who's Who of American College Student Leaders, Delmas
was a journalist and Assistant Editor for the college newspaper. Labeled a "vivid, enthusiastic speaker", she spoke on behalf of the University to groups from 25 to 500 attendees, enjoyed internships in the University PR Department along with one lucky summer at the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"It was the first Star Trek Convention and no one wanted to touch it," she said. Delmas was handed a PR job that landed her smack in the attention of San Francisco's PR world. First job out of college, Marine
World Africa USA in Redwood City, CA., celebrated her as the youngest
PR Coordinator ever hired.
In 1979 she switched gears and jumped at the chance to be a technical writer. Yearning for normal hours and a chance to study art, she wrote 'how to' manuals and brochures for 'dumb, smart and semi-intelligent' computers and was present in the marketing meeting when corporate Lear Siegler came and the Board voted, the home computing market was a fad. She enjoyed lunch on the grounds of the Art Center in Pasadena, but never got the chance to enroll as a student.
Not discouraged, the dream did not elude her ... for the next ten years she wrote speeches, press releases, advertising and direct mail materials for politicians and Realtors®, work by day, art by night ...
First break came in 1984 when the 'Friends of the Sausalito Arts Festival' chose her work for their "Emerging Artist Exhibition".  Three of her "Doodles" were left at the end of the show. In 1987 "The Nerds" were licensed for fabric and by the end of 1988 Shorebirds Gallery and the ZYT Gallery represented her work. People bought her doodles and hung her art in their bathrooms. Slightly offended she decided to capitalize on it and attended a gift show.
CHOICE ... it came on a Friday morning, an offer to be a National Marketing Director for a commercial real estate firm. Big bucks, lots of extra's! Delmas explained, "I sat in a conference room, the SF skyline behind blue suits, I wanted to draw the buildings, not accept the position." She escaped to the ladies room for a chance to think and returned with a decision that shocked family. The year was 1989 and she never looked back!
 She quickly capitalized on her background, organizing and promoting a celebration of "choice" with her first
solo exhibition, held at San
Marco Gallery, Dominican College, San Rafael, CA. The Marin IJ social columnist called it "a
happening"; well over 500 people enjoyed the
festivities, complete with strolling violinists, a harpist, BBQ oysters
and fabulous food served all day long and by dusk, two originals were left.
The "Art Party" has been a mainstay of her income since 1989. "Ten years later, the condo association fined me for having well over 1800 people attend a two day art extravaganza" she said. "A local Bank teller sang french opera one day while an eleven year old guitarist amazed us the second day". Fabulous food, great people, a relaxing fun atmosphere combine for a perfect setting to sell her art.
About every seven years Delmas shifts gears and creates a completely different body of work. After a decade of "Doodles" she wanted to learn how to "see" as an artist, to draw! She chose the subject of flowers and spent seven years practicing and learning technique, this series was created between 1990 and 1995.
Wanting purpose and a meaning in her art, she created sports art and studied the figure while she contemplated the next series. The "EnerG" series began in 1996 and ended in 2001.
The press have called her a 'master watercolorist' for her non-traditional style of using the medium of watercolor. Known as a 'colorist', her work has been accepted twice in exhibitions at the National Academy of Design Museum in New York City. She is the former art correspondent for the Marin Independent Journal and she found a surprise gift in '93 when she taught her first art class. Well over 700 students have taken her course, "Can't draw, Can't paint, give yourself 6 weeks". Over 2800 people have enjoyed her enthusiasm to share the gift of art. 28 of her students have switched careers and become professional artists.
In early 2000 she sat along side her Mom with a cracked back and wondered what she was doing with her life that she could not help her ... no clue as to how that thought would change her life, she has spent the last seven years helping her Mom through this difficult time. Now in the later stages of Alzheimer's, she spends her time giving "sunshine" to her Dad and comforting her Mom. Of this time she says, "My Mom gave me my life and now happily and gracefully I give her mine" ...
Delmas finds it difficult to paint and currently does one show a year with Marin Open Studio's . Her work continues to sell monthly on this web site and she feels fortunate to have accomplished as much as she has and looks forward to the future and what this past experience will bring to her art.
A page written in February of 2000 Where has she been?
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