From an early age her father, William Neal Gunn, and her uncle, Howard Arnold, gave her extensive artistic training. Both were noted watercolorists, and her father was also proficient in oil painting and design.
She continued her studies in art prints and posters at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, where she graduated with honors in 1973, followed by studies at the Kala Institute in Berkeley and the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.