An eye-puncturingly gorgeous woman with intensely green eyes and pouty, Angelina Jolie-like lips commands attention. Dangling gold earrings, a gold-and-white dress dripping with gold beads, and a chic hat topped with shiny beads all add to the woman’s glamour. The woman is depicted in “Ecstacy,” one of a handful of paintings by Gianna Samargis at the Jumbalia boutique, 1429 North Wells, in Old Town.

Like the pretty hairdos that Gianna creates on clients at Maria Paonessa Campagnia Della Bellezza, 1500 North Wells, in Old Town, Gianna’s paintings of sophisticated, glamorous women are breathtaking.

Besides featuring bold, vibrant colors, her paintings include a variety of textures, such as beads, fabric and feathers, that bring the paintings to life even more.

Eight of Gianna’s paintings decorate Jumbalia, which sells pretty, unique and charmingly quirky items made by female artists. For a couple of months the store has been showing Gianna’s paintings, which are for sale by consignment.

A woman with dazzling blue eyes and sparkly blue earrings impresses from a painting behind the Jumbalia cash register. Blue feathers glued to the canvas give the woman a stylish, fur-trimmed hat and coat.

Marsha Kaeseberg, who owns Jumbalia with her sister Claudia Coleman, says, “I love Gianna’s art, and it’s just an awesome fit for my store.”

Jumbalia is packed with colorful belts, T-shirts and purses, as well as photo frames, clocks and cookie jars covered with beads and ceramics.

Although Kaeseberg says that each of Gianna’s paintings “has its own feeling,” she says that all of the paintings tend to be “sort of fiery—like Gianna.”

Gianna’s friend Willie McNealy, who often brings music CDs to the salon where Gianna works, says, “Gianna is so creative, totally inspired.”

Over dinner at Bistrot Margot, a restaurant up the street from Maria Paonessa, Gianna, McNealy and I talk about Gianna’s paintings.

Wearing a long-sleeve pink shirt over a white top, Gianna looks like her usual, striking self. Her elegant, dark hair, perfectly applied eye makeup, rosy-colored blush blended in just right, and bracelets sparkling all add to her appearance. Meanwhile she tries to cool off from the warm weather by waving a battery-operated fan in front of herself.

Born and raised in Mola di Bari in Italy’s Apuglia region, Gianna grew up by the Adriatic seacoast. When her mom, who was a fashion designer, would draw charcoal sketches of outfits, Gianna, at age 10 or 11, often would add color to her mom’s sketches. Then in her teens Gianna would sketch intriguing-looking faces.

After the teenage Gianna and her family moved to the United States, she became mesmerized by Old Town because of the artists and hippies living and working in the neighborhood.

“When I first arrived from Italy, I loved Old Town because it had so many art stores,” Gianna says, adding that she often would visit the neighborhood to check out the art. “It’s really funny, because after so many years, here I am working in Old Town,” she says.

She has worked for seven years as a hair stylist at Maria Paonessa, and she has been a hair stylist for 35 years.

Gianna started painting with acrylic and oils about five years ago. She says she likes to paint women from the 1920s and 1930s because women were especially glamorous then. “It was a very classy, elegant era,” she says. “I always have been mesmerized by glamour. I love glamour.”

Also, she says, “So many things inspire me.”

She loves natural beauties, such as the Adriatic seacoast, and she admires artists Matisse and Picasso for their bold use of color. She also likes Picasso’s use of geometric images. In addition, the Russian artist and fashion designer Erte also inspires her. Known for creating colorful, original and extravagant designs, Erte also created some cover designs for Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

Gianna sketches and then paints images of women during late evenings at her Schaumburg home. “It just helps me unwind and takes me to another place,” she says. “It releases a lot of stress.”

Although Gianna hasn’t received any formal art training, she is blessed with a great sense of creativity and glamour. Or, as McNealy would say, “She has a glitz gene” that simply sparkles and comes alive through her paintings.

For more information about Gianna’s paintings, go to www.ArtByGianna.com.