Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Renee Decator. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Renee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have always loved art. I am a dreamer who loves the beauty of nature…God’s beautiful creation. As a child I drew a lot. I had sketch pads and pencils and drew animals and people and other things I thought were interesting. I was a funny kid who found out that drawing was a “talent” that not everyone shared, but most people appreciated. I drew caricatures of all my classmates when I was in grade school, and presented a booklet to my sixth grade teacher. Years later when I went back for a visit, she pulled the booklet out of her desk drawer. I was so surprised that it had prompted her to save it, and cherish it.
Years later, as a young wife and mom of two boys, my niece took a “professional art class”, and my sister insisted that I sign up for the class. I had never painted and wanted to learn, but the private school would only allow students with drawing skills to take the class. So I took the drawing class and was hooked! It literally changed my life. It challenged me and I began to see everything if a different way… shapes and shadows and color! I took lessons and workshops and painted non-stop. I can’t stop making art. It allows me to share a bit of what beauty I see around me. The loveliest, exotic, extraordinary details of nature.
I love the juxtaposition of education and the childlike freedom to put shapes and colors and pattern together to tell a story or just grab your attention for just a short time. My process is about play and problem-solving. I just love being in my studio and creating art that shares my vision.

Renee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a mixed-media visual artist. Most of my artwork is a combination of paint and collage. I love pattern and paint a lot of the paper I use in my collage. I use lightweight dry-wax or tissue paper that I gesso for a little body and paint with layers of acrylic paint, using stencils and mark-making tools. The papers and thin enough that the edges lie very flat. When I want more texture, I can apply more layers of paper, and move the paper within the adhesive medium, creating folds. With some of my large mixed media animals I also incorporate textiles and ephemera.
The artwork naturally draws the viewer closer to explore the mosaic of materials hidden within the composition.
I love surprises and only sketch a simplified composition to see where the process takes me. I love color and it drives my choices along with the often playful aspect of the artwork.

Early on in my art venture. I was focused of the rules of art and my desire to paint hyper detailed oil paintings. After a number of years… I was not enjoying the process at all. Through observation of some expressionist artists, I discovered that art could be about exploration and play with those very useful rules available when I felt they were needed. I use them all the time, but they are more second-nature now and don’t get in the way.

I want art and art-making to feel like a natural extension of our creative soul. Children understand that… at a young age they are uninhibited and usually happy to make art and share it. Creativity impacts every aspect of my life, because it is important to me and I know the positive outlook and outcome it produces.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I was painting plein-aire years ago with some artists friends on the sidewalk downtown. I had a lovely French easel with a selection of oil paints and brushes. I was just laying in the background and measuring with my arm extended to capture the lines of the building that was my subject. This was a challenge… people are of course walking by and taking a peek and it was intimidating. I was doing it though. That’s what real painters do.
Along comes a old guy that was disheveled, maybe hungover and most likely not an art critic. He walked up and paused, looking at my progress and said, “Picasso you ain’t”. Well, I was a little crushed and proceeded to explain that I was in the early stages of the underpainting… to everyone that might hear me, because he had walked off already. I learned a valuable lesson, that I still have to repeat to myself sometimes. Paint for myself, create for me and my best work will happen. Some people will not appreciate it, but the ones who light up with a smile when they see my art, those are my viewers, my patrons.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Maybe I am just super sentimental, but the value of things… paintings and collages and clay bowls and even found items like shell and feathers are connected to stories and memories. I value them because they remind me of the connection to the maker or a particular event. They have worth that exceeds their cost. I like treasures and art is just that. Hand-made, hand-crafted has lost it appeal for the masses. We need to instill the value of exploring our creativity and the story behind the art that is created.

I did a series a few years ago and it was about treasures. The artwork subject was dresses with pockets, and what was in the pocket was the treasure. There were flowers and some dresses were covered with birds and one of the dresses was about fish. I grew up fishing with my dad and the treasure was the fish and my recipe for fried fish.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://reneedecator.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reneepaints/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rdecator