About

Fay Stassis Vernon

Fay Stassis Vernon was born in 1951 in San Diego, California, to Greek immigrant parents who raised her speaking Greek as her first language. At seven years old, she crossed the Atlantic on an ocean liner with her family to spend a year in Greece — a journey that would shape her sense of beauty, history, and culture for life. She has maintained dual Greek and American citizenship ever since.

Her path as an artist began in a San Diego classroom, where a teacher singled out her drawing as the finest in the class. That moment of recognition lit something in her that never went out.

Fay went on to study fine arts at San Diego State, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree. A professor told her she had the potential to become a master painter — if she gave up everything else. She chose instead to marry, raise a family, and paint on her own terms. It was the right decision.

Over the decades she became known throughout San Diego for her large-scale murals, painted on the interiors and exteriors of buildings across the region. But it was portraiture that captured her deepest devotion. Her commissioned portraits of individuals and families became sought after among the social circles of San Diego, La Jolla, Del Mar, and Rancho Santa Fe.

Today Fay lives in the south of France in Nice with her husband Kevin, where she continues to paint portraits, travel through Europe, and pursue a lifelong love of art, history, and museums.