Tomao was born in New York City. She attended the prestigious New York School of Music and Art, where she received an Award of Excellence from the Pittsburgh Institute of Art. She has been painting for over 30 years.

Tomao is renown not only for her magnificent landscapes but also for her traditional images of women and children in imaginative settings, and her exquisite lifelike flowers arranged in elegantly detailed vases. Her palette is both jewel-like and muted – light glistens off the focal objects, sometimes actually flowing with their inner radiance. Her style is strongly reminiscent of George Innes in its quiet feeling of warmth and space.

Tomao has had exhibitions in Long Beach, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, San Diego, San Francisco, Palm Desert, Portland, Vancouver, New Orleans and Palm Beach.