Facts on Elayne LaPorta

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

OCCUPATION: Artist, art dealer.

HOMETOWN: Wilton, Conn.

FAMILY -- Married more than 50 years to Lou, an insurance agent and former Henderson city councilman and Clark County commissioner. Son Peter is Nevada's chief deputy state public defender; daughter Valerie Haynes is a purchasing at McCarran International Airport; son Luke is an electrician.

FORMAL ART TRAINING -- LaPorta studied under local art teacher Steve Lesnick from 1968-79, and sat in on a few courses at the Academy of Fine Art in Florence, Italy.

NOT FOR SALE -- After losing many of her original works in a fire and having several others sold while on exhibit in a department store several years ago, LaPorta now keeps all of her original oil paintings. She sells serigraphs and lithograph copies wholesale to art dealers around the country, though she hasn't had much success in Las Vegas. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and around the Great Lakes region are her heaviest markets. "There's not that much demand for religious stuff," she says.

IN THE BEGINNING -- LaPorta specialized in Western art. She and Lou traveled the state photographing subjects and scenes to paint. She also had an "Americana" period, studded with down-home country works, including one inspired by her childhood home. "It was an apple farm, but I turned it into a cherry farm" for the painting, she says.

RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES -- A Roman Catholic, LaPorta contends that none of her own beliefs ever seep into her paintings. "Years ago, we weren't encouraged to read the Bible, and any longtime Catholic will tell you that. I guess that's why we were discouraged to read the Bible when we were younger, because we would misinterpret it."