About Victoria

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Victoria was born in New York to a father who owned an auto body garage and a mother who was raised in the south. This combination made for a fun balance between tomboy and debutante.  

After college she moved to NYC and worked at a boutique law firm for about five years. Right before Christmas in 2000 she went to London for a friend's birthday party and, making a typical American mistake, she leapt into the street, looked left and was hit by a car coming from the right traveling at about 40 mph. Her stay in the hospital, while recovering from her injuries, coincided with the realization that she desired a change and chose to move on from working at the law firm. 

The man who hit her was from India and believed that there was a bigger reason this had happened. She felt the same and was very inspired by his hopefulness. It turns out he was in the movie industry and she had expressed her interest in the production of films. They spoke every Friday for months and after rehabilitating her legs he made a call. The following Monday she was on the midtown movie set of Bad Company working with Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock and the film's producer Jerry Bruckheimer. 

This experience for her was life changing.

She worked on various film projects until September 11, 2001. 

Life was turned upside down on that tragic morning where she viewed the horror from only a couple of blocks away. She remained in New York to attend many memorial services and her friend then suggested she move to LA and stay with her for a while. So she did. She took a bit of time off and would drive up the coast in her little red convertible, play golf and enjoy the beautiful weather in California. After the one year anniversary of 9/11 she felt she had a good amount of time to heal and reflect, she was offered a job at Innovative Artists/Ford Modeling agency and worked in the commercial division for 18 months. In her spare time she performed stand up comedy and that led to her being on a comedy show for two seasons with Chelsea Handler called Girls Behaving Badly. 

It's like Candid Camera but with an all women cast. 

You can see one of her many episodes here: https://youtu.be/erhLKrdTmM0

After working at the agency and in front of the camera she felt her time in Los Angeles was well spent and decided to move back to NYC. She was out west for two and a half years, much longer than she expected. 

When she returned home she was offered a job in the fun world of banking and found her niche trading weather derivatives. She enjoyed her time on the vast trading floor for eight years and it allowed her to travel the world speaking at energy and weather symposiums. She opened her first art gallery in the West Village in NYC in 2010. Her meteorology background is one of the reasons that the name of her showrooms and various galleries is Vane Gallery. 

After she retired from the banking industry she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in mid 2013.

She continued with her painting and her series of mugshots and sports legends paintings debuted in her new Vane Gallery in Southend, Charlotte. 

Her first Vane Gallery in Charlotte was in Southend and her second in Myers Park. 

Besides working and painting she spends a lot of her time involved with many charities. 

Participating on many boards she served one in particular that helped Veterans from all eras called Purple Heart Homes.

Victoria suffers from PTSD after witnessing the devastation on September 11th and this is why she is so passionate about our US Veterans. Her emotional and heartfelt Purple Heart Homes video from their 2022 retreat can be seen here: https://youtu.be/w4zxPJo09dc

Victoria enjoys donating her time and artwork to many charities to assist with their fundraising efforts. During the pandemic she used her own funds to buy food and basic necessities and delivered them to underserved neighborhoods. She also spends time in these neighborhoods bringing them art supplies and leading classes to teach the basics of painting.

Her upcoming role as President of Charlotte South Rotary Club in Southpark is very exciting to her and brings her great joy. Her late Father and Grandfather were in Rotary for over 30 years and she is proud to carry on that legacy. 

Her mission is to be able to continue to work with charities around the world, donate her time and paint and distribute her works to silent and live auctions. So far she has donated more than 250 paintings and has collectively raised over $450,000 for numerous foundations, big and small. 

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