First of all, I live in a magnificent, albiet masculine environment. Horses, cowboys, wildlife, hunting, controversies abound. Wolves, bison, outfitting, ranching, environmentalism. The war of the west is alive and well. I always thought that my art would be saturated with wildlife, nature, and the beauty and awe that I experience every day of my life-where it is normal to hear wolves howl, see hundreds of elk across the ridge outside my window, ski with tracks of wolverine, mountain lion and dog.

I have for many years had an impatience with the inhumanity of humankind and found my solace in nature and with the company of animals. I still do, but I find that my art has evolved into something I never would have expected. My earliest art began as tight, constricted, exacting. Mostly elements of nature.

A few years ago, I gave up my position with the park service (as a mostly digital artist) to go back to my roots of oil painting. An amazing thing happened-I began to get looser and freer with each painting. The brushes got larger, the colors brighter, and the subject matter began to span a whole new horizon. I found that I was happiest addressing the human frailties that plague us all and was drawn strongly toward women's issues. Although it may not be immediately recognizable as such, my paintings address loneliness, joy, abusive relationships, heartbreak, loss, identity. Some people "get it" immediately, and some say, "I like it, but I don't understand." Not everyone needs to. Such is art.

My name "Renee" means reborn, and I am truly reborn in my art. I do not paint for a market niche, I paint from my soul, I paint for me-and hopefully for you. My new association with ebsq has been uplifting and extremely positive, I am so grateful that organizations like this exist for artists and for art.