Sorrel Mocchia di Coggiola was born in Northern California, USA. She initially studied theater arts and costume before moving on to illustration and fine arts at the San Francisco Academy of Art. She later studied oil painting and old master techniques at the the Wells College program in Paris, the Lorenzo di Medici school in Florence, and privately under professor I. Razdrogin of the Fine Arts School of St. Petersburg, as well as pursuing independent work as a copyist at the Louvre museum.
Her earlier figurative paintings often included frigid naked female bodies in snowy landscapes. She later specialized in the representation and visual documentation of unusual and eccentric people and performance artists from her entourage, including French, American and Italian performers and artists.
Mme. Mocchia di Coggiola co-directs and styles the Paris branch of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, a successful monthly art event in Paris museums and nightclubs. She also works as a stylist for photo shoots and music videos.
Her work has appeared in several alternative galleries in Paris including the Cabinet des Curieux and Akiza Galerie as well as in the Salon d’Art Contemporain in Paris. She has illustrated several books and her oil paintings have been featured in the Dealer de Luxe magazine (France). Her work as a copyist of Old Master paintings has appeared on the cover of the Smithsonian magazine (USA), as well as in Vogue magazine (Italy), Paris Match (France), and the book “Les Copistes du Louvre” by Eric Sander.
She currently lives and works in Paris alongside her husband, the Italian count Massimiliano Mocchia di Coggiola, an author and illustrator.