Denise Antil, known as Dee or Dee Dee to her family and friends, was born and raised in Upstate New York, before traveling first to Newport, Rhode Island then eventually to Charleston, South Carolina to pursue a life in nursing and anesthesia. Marriage followed, as did a career opportunity which brought Dee and her husband to Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Dee found out first hand that life has a way of throwing us curve balls when we least expect them. Her marriage ended soon after the move to Fredericksburg, followed shortly thereafter by her anesthesia career, the victim of a hearing disability which struck Dee quickly and without warning. However, as she found herself raising three young boys alone on a fixed income, Dee also found a silver lining in the storm clouds that hovered over her and her boys. She discovered she had both a talent and a great passion for creating beautiful, wearable art jewelry. She also found that her unwavering attention to detail, which served her so well in the operating room, had found a new and exciting purpose. The result was the creation of a line of wearable art which is as unique, as understated, and ultimately, as durable as the woman who creates it.

In her second career as an artist, Denise Antil has been transformed from a woman who made jewelry at her kitchen table between trips to the soccer field, into a highly respected jewelry maker on the east coast. Her jewelry is now in the private collections of notable people across the country, including ABC news anchor Robin Roberts and former Syracuse news anchor Maureen Green. 

Never one to ignore the nagging voice in her head, Dee next embarked on a painting career. First taking an handful of oil painting classes with her artistic middle son, she was told she had a gift and an innate talent. She didn’t believe since mixing colors and seeing values was all foreign and new to her. Years later when she picked up a brush again, found joy in the habit and made painting a daily practice. She dove feet first into painting and found it both meditative and healing. 

Dee is a three-term past President of Brush Strokes Gallery in Fredericksburg, where she was a member from 2006-2012. She is also a founding board member of Fredericksburg's nonprofit sculptural gallery, Artful Dimensions. Dee was also accepted and part of Fredericksburg's oldest art cooperative, Art First Gallery, for a time before venturing out on her own to do solo shows at places like the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. Now, she is devoting her time creating an online presence in the art world. Take a peek; you'll be glad you did.