Many years ago… before I painted things like turtles and fish, coral reefs and octopus, I was primarily painting the tropical landscape. I had a commission to paint a piece with bananas and big tropical foliage. I started the piece as I start most any painting… with big areas of color, followed by more layers of overlapping color. I was working at a studio on the piece when a friend strolled by and innocently stated that the big shape in the middle “looked like a turtle”. “It’s going to be pink bananas”, I replied. I took the piece home and leaned against a wall to observe for the next few days until I could get back to it, but every time I looked at it, all I could see was that big turtle shape. I planned to continue on painting it as bananas, but in an attempt to be a more intuitive artist, I started the pink bananas on another canvas and finished the original piece as the turtle it was meant to be :)
I’ve learned to listen to my heart a little more… and voices, creative voices of my own and those of my friends, now and then.
I paint turtles… thank goodness. The ocean is a mighty mysterious place. Just as in every other part of creation, it’s design is amazingly beautiful and mesmerizing. I’m working on two commissions of underwater scenes right now at my studio and thought I would share some of the progress.
RENEE DECATOR, life stories 