Houston-based fine painter Renea Menzies can’t quite believe her luck. Not only did she spend her youth jet-setting to Paris, Tokyo, Mexico and Spain for professional modeling work, she is now a fulfilled mother-of-two and a successful artist whose pieces hang on the walls of 12 galleries in the United States, from Boston and Southampton, to Aspen and Malibu.
Renea believes her work is so popular because it is completely original and unique. She defines her canvases of colorful, vibrant flowers as “modern abstract” art, and calls her technique “sculpted oil”. Using a palette knife, she swirls rich, jewel-tone colors onto the canvas to create series of flowers. She also sculpts and molds larger flowers, which she then places at the center of some of her pieces. These molded flowers can be two to three inches high, and provide incredible tridimensionality to the work. She loves going to her shows and seeing people’s reaction to her pieces. “People’s jaws drop! They love the texture and they just want to touch the paintings.”
While Renea has no idea how she came to paint flowers almost exclusively, she is certain that the movement expressed on her canvases comes from the music she dances to while she works. She also gets transported by the colors themselves, so much so that it may take her a few tries before nailing a commission piece that requires a specific color scheme. “Painting is a complete release for me”, says Renea.
Renea started painting professionally almost 10 years ago, after a difficult divorce. Although she struggled financially for a few years, she wouldn’t give up on her dream of making a living as an artist. Her persistence paid off, since she now supports herself and her children by selling her paintings. Her advice to struggling artists: “Be true to yourself. Don’t try to change, because everybody has an opinion. Be proactive and persistent about getting your work into galleries. It may take three to five years of working before you are successful, so don’t give up.”
She says that her second career as an artist has given her “a new life”, in which she can fully express her talent and creativity. To view examples of Renea’s work, visit her virtual gallery at http://www.reneamenzies.com/.
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