About the Artist

I seek to capture the subtle details in my paintings - like the delicate weave of a bird's nest or the curious look of a fledgling bird - things that might otherwise go unnoticed. My paintings feature birds and animals that are in my local environment and through my paintings I hope to make people more aware of the environment around them.

I primarily work with three media: scratchboard, acrylic mixed media and watercolor. For the scratchboard illustrations, I paint black ink on smooth clayboard and scratch away the ink to reveal the white background. For the mixed media paintings, I create collaged backgrounds using pages from retired books and handmade papers. I paint directly on top of the collage allowing some of the background to show through the paint. I also paint with watercolors on textured clayboard and watercolor canvas. I enjoy the varied and often unexpected effects when the paints move on the uneven surfaces.

While living in North Carolina (USA), my inspiration came from time spent volunteering at the Piedmont Wildlife Center Hospital (Durham), visits to the Carolina Raptor Center (Charlotte), and observing birds in their natural setting. My husband and I moved to Brisbane, Queensland (Australia) at the end of 2007, and I am working on new paintings and scratchboards that feature native Australian wildlife(see my onlineportfolio).

During 2009, I will be participating in several exhibits in both the USA and Australia as well as teaching scratchboard through Flying Arts Inc. For more information about my artwork, exhibits or workshops, please contact me at Renee@ReneesArtwork.com.

You can also visit our Australian Adventures Blog to read stories and see photos from our life down under.