Educated at the Cooper Union and Hunter College in New York, she sees her mentors as the early American modernists, such as Marsden Hartley, John Marin and Arthur Dove. Holmes and her husband, Mark Pehanich, moved to Petersburg, Virginia fifteen years ago to renovate an 1828 house, to live more simply and focus more time on their artwork. In 2002 they bought an old pawnshop, which they use for studio space. Dolly has shown at New York’s Painting Center, Petersburg’s Sol Cooper Gallery, Walton Gallery and Enteros Design, at Perspective Gallery at Virginia Tech. She most recently showed at Eric Schindler Gallery in Richmond, Virginia.