Hawthorne has studied drawing and painting many years in France at Paris ateliers as well as in the United States at Washington State colleges. Currently in Paris, she paints original oils and is an authorized copyist of masterworks in the Musee du Louvre and Musee d'Orsay.
"I love copying in the museums! It's like having a great artist as a teacher. Each copy is like taking a private course with a master. Though sometimes, when matching a color is difficult, I imagine Monet watching and saying, 'but, Madame, Madame, can't you see?'"
In addition, she has been a corporate Financial English consultant in Paris,an English literature Postgraduate Teaching Assistant under full scholarship at Villanova University, a grant proposal writer at the Universidad de Puerto Rico, a general building contractor in Seattle, owner of a health food business in NYC, foreman in a salmon processing plant in Alaska, and a spray-can artist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Dickinson College.