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The opening statements on this site reflect Rita's plan to concentrate on her painting after retirement. And for a short while, that held true. However, health concerns interfered with her plans . The artwork on this page evidences how neuropathy brought about by over a year and a half of chemo treatments steadily degraded her physical ability to paint.  The first painting on this page shows a slight degradation in the clarity and crispness of the paint handling. The work herein presented is ordered chronologically. The extreme frustration she felt while trying to work on the paintings of the water tower and the Empire State Building led her to put down her brushes for good. Ironically, after she resigned her care to hospice services and realizing that her life would soon end, some of her former ability came back as she transitioned to her death. Unbeknownst to any one,  she worked secretly on an accordian  book of haikus and observations expressed with patterns and calligraphic characters. This small, but powerful   book was discovered shortly after her death and has only been shared with those considered family.

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