With every class I create, I feel that I share bits and pieces of my life. I spend a great deal of time thinking about the lessons I want to create. But, before I share them with you, they need to make sense to me - I want to feel compelled and inspired to create the art.

As I experiment with ideas, paint, colors, and techniques, I'm aware that my creative process continues to evolve, and the work does as well. I love how each piece of art leads to the next. The creative process is a beautiful part of making art, and one that I feel is important to share with you through my classes.

Based on a collection of ideas, The Storytellers came to me on a recent road trip with my 85-year mom and my teenage daughter, Olivia. We drove from Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she grew up. She wanted to visit her cousins, see her childhood home, and visit my grandparent's grave.The stories she told us about growing up in New Orleans, her adventures, with family and friends, brought to light many parts of my mom I didn't know. I realized that her stories are part of my story and my daughter's story.

I contemplated for quite a while how to bring this history to my art, and find a way to abstract the stories and combine them in different ways. And that is how I came up with this new course! I love it and am so excited to share it with you.

In this course, you will create a small body of work that could be developed into a beautiful art series when explored further.

Drawing inspiration from storytellers: people whose paths we crossed and the stories they have shared with us as inspiration. By combining their stories with our own, speculating, or creating a new one, you find that you will never be at a loss as to what to create, by collecting ideas and combining them in unique ways, you will give your artwork depth and meaning.

In each lesson, I will share my techniques and philosophy on combining unrelated ideas and stories to inspire your way of making art. I will encourage you to abandon perfection and feel the joy of creating. When you work this way, you will eventually discover your potential for creating beautiful art.

There are five lessons in this course, and each one can be the jumping-off point to explore further. We gather inspiration, stories, and ideas to keep you and your artwork fresh and inspired. Below is a list of things I will be demonstrating throughout the course:

• Create a collection of small collage pieces to keep your ideas, colors, and stories.

• Develop a meaningful abstract painting with layers of paint, collage, and pastel.

• Learn to create beautiful color palettes that will unify your work.

• Combine stories, and nature in a one of a kind assemblage piece.

• Abandon perfection and create expressive florals filled with beauty and symbolism.

• Develop a beautiful portrait in oils (or any medium of your choice)

• Step by step, mixing skin tones using a string of colors.

• Each lesson can be explored further to create a series of work.

I’m excited to be a guest teacher again this year for Kara Bullock. You can learn more about the class and register on her site.

Have a beautiful day!

xo, Renee