A child of the desert, Carla was raised about fifteen miles outside Palm Springs in a small house with a back yard of sand and brush that extended to the horizon. She arrived in New York in 1968 and it was her ambitions as an artist that led us to the loft at 98 Bowery and the birth of SOHO and the New York School of the late 60's. Inspired by her contemporary Andy Warhol's subject matter, style and factory techniques, Carla was quick and prolific, mostly painting portraits of pop icons like Mick Jagger, Elvis, Rita Hayworth and Native Americans. Younger dealers in New York regularly sold her paintings out of their back rooms, and they could also be found on the walls of friends and admirers, such as art historian Robert Rosenblum and US poet laureate Billy Collins. Carla continued to paint and exhibit after moving to Los Angeles in 1973, where collectors include Chicano art collector Cheech Marin and numerous Hollywood celebrities.
Carla still lives and paints in Eagle Rock, an East LA neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.