Atlantic Center for the Arts announced that Renee Decator has been selected as the poster artist for IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts, which will be held in downtown New Smyrna Beach Jan. 30 & 31, 2010.
Renee grew up in Daytona Beach and says, “drawing was a favorite pastime for me when I was a child. I drew caricatures of all my classmates in school and filled sketchbook after sketchbook. I was a tomboy who loved the ocean, the springs and deep-sea fishing with my dad.” As an adult, she attended the Artquest School of Art & Design, squeezing in classes between working and raising a family.
"Surface", acrylic on canvas, by Renee Decator has been selected as the IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts poster and T-shirt image for 2010.
Renee and her family moved to the Melbourne area in 1996 where she continued taking art classes and workshops.
“My art is all about the wonders of life, as I see them,” Renee said. “ I love color and texture and I am fascinated with small things; the way a leaf curls to catch the rain, or the silhouette of a blackbird in the sky above me. My exploration into art was literally ‘eye-opening’. It quickly became a passion and forever became the best description of who I am. My goal is to always be true to my passions in life. To explore and discover, to see my world with childlike wonder, and share my vision of those wonders through my artwork.”
Renee’s painting “Surface” was selected as the poster and T-shirt image for the 34th annual IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts. “Surface” depicts two sea turtles swimming up through small orange fish and beams of light that penetrates the water.
“I spent many weekends fishing in the ocean off Daytona with my dad,” Renee said, “and I love the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it. I describe myself as a ‘Southern Expressionist.’ Growing up in the South has definitely influenced my art, both in my bold palette and subject matter.”
Renee said that most of her paintings evolve through an intuitive process. She starts with texture and color, covering the canvas, and as she starts to play with the color, shape and line she develops a feeling of which direction the piece might go.
“I like challenges when I paint and welcome the unexpected and exciting surprises this method allows,” Renee said. “Painting intuitively is liberating … a blank canvas is never an obstacle, just an opportunity to do what I love ‑ paint.”
One of Renee’s favorite projects was a solo exhibition in 2008, titled “Roadtrip, Impressions of a Memory” that was prompted by a very special trip she took with her father and teenage son back to the West Virginia and Kentucky mountains of her father’s childhood. The exhibition included 29 artworks, a book with the stories that inspired the art, and a video about the trip.
Renee paints and teaches at her studio, Artescape and is represented by the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery in the Eau Gallie Arts District, both in Melbourne. Her work is in private collections throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi and New York.
“I hope my art encourages viewers to explore the world around them and appreciate the wonder of it,” Renee said. She welcomes comments about her work on her blog “Wonder and Whimsy” at http://www.reneedecator.com.
The 34th Annual IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts is presented by Atlantic Center for the Artswill be held Jan. 30 & 31, 2010 in picturesque Riverside Park along the beautiful Intracoastal Waterway in New Smyrna Beach. It will be an outstanding weekend featuring more than 240 talented artists, a delicious festival menu in the food court, free children’s art projects, and top-notch entertainment both days. Hours will be 9 a.m-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, phone 386-423-4733, or visit the Web site at www.imagesartfestival.org.
