a new path

I have always loved mixed-media. I did quite alot in my show last year, Road Trip, impressions of a memory. I was somewhat restricted (self-imposed) working with subjects that pertained to the Road Trip experience. I have been gathering...aren't all we women gatherers? Rediscovering the oddist objects saved from all kinds of places and events. Sometimes you step out of your vehicle in a parking lot and behold a treasure. I have lots of those. I have a hard time leaving them lying there. I always presume they were waiting on me to retrieve them.

I am starting work on some new mixed-media pieces. I actually loved working on the book project for Hopes and Dreams, (check the previous post for more info) and want to do more, more, more.

As I get started, I am working with a sketch on acid free paper, the number 2, a fairy drawing clipped from an old book, a die-cut tag, an old painted piece of canvas (I couldn't throw away), some yellow plastic binding and assorted papers. I will be applying all of this to a board I have prepared with gesso.

I will try and remember to post new pictures as I work. Let me know what you think.

Still working, it is coming along...

Hopes and Dreams Opens Friday Feb 6, 2009

Finally,

I probably shouldn't say finally, since my artwork for the show is not framed yet. I need to refinish my frame, and it is too cold to use the spray paint. I am hoping for lots of sun today. It is sold though, an area artist stopped by to get a preview of the show, and purchased my entry, "Dream".

Hopes and Dreams, the exhibition to benefit Genesis House opens tomorrow night at the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery. I am so pleased with the exhibit! We hung three strands of the hand pulled prints yesterday. Artists and visitors were asked to write a hope or dream on one. They are hanging above the exhibition's artwork. Several artists friends and I printed almost 200 of them. They are so lovely.

Visitors to the gallery during February 09 will have the opportunity to write on a print and share a hope or dream.

Hopes and Dreams

Hopes and Dreams will open at the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery on Friday, February 6th. This is an invitational art exhibition to benefit Genesis House, a Melbourne organization who assist women who are pregnant or who have children and need a home.

I wanted to do another charitable art exhbition like last years, "Give them the Farm" but for a local charity. Each artist was asked to produce an artwork and a book with "Hopes and Dreams" as their inspiration.

The book has been a challenge for most of the artists participating, including me. Eventually, I started to feel more comfortable working in mixed media with paper, gesso, markers, etc.

Here are a few of my pages.

New Year, New Art News

It is hard to believe that 2008 is over...but here we are on the first day of 2009. I have had a busy year and I am gearing up for several art adventures that will arrive before I am ready. I could put "procrastination" high on my list of resolutions, but I have decided to accept it instead. Wouldn't that be a better way to address our shortcomings...embrace them.
I have determined that I work much more effectively under pressure. I wake early in the morning and start to think about some looming deadline...my pulse quickens, my brain starts to fire off ideas and new possibilities. I leap from my bed in a bit of a panic, and spring into action...after a good strong cup of coffee.














One of the projects just completed is Tweeterville. My son Tom and I created an "Animal Home" for the Brevard Zoo. We decided on a bird nesting community we call Tweeterville. It was a big project and the deadline was a few days before Christmas...but we are proud of our efforts. The primary audience is school-aged children who visit the zoo during their Christmas break. We were encouraged to plan the project through the eyes of a child...not too hard for me. We created nests including the Early Bird Cafe featuring the cuisine of Chef Bobby Fly, Birdbrain "U" with Professor Whoooo-ver (the cute owl that Tom made) and Flyover Park with a working bird merry go round. We made birds from packing tape and red birds from foam and crepe paper. For more Tweeterville pictures, go to my Facebook Album . Tweeterville will be on display with several other animal homes at the Brevard Zoo only till January 5th.and is located in the area of the wading birds, near the food pavilion.

The other exciting art event is Hopes and Dreams, opening February 6th, 2009 at the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery here in Melbourne. This is an exhibit that I am chairing to benefit a local organization called Genesis House. Thirty-five artists were invited to participate and were asked to create an artwork with Hopes and Dreams as their inspiration. They were also provided a blank book to design also using the Hopes and Dreams theme. The books and artwork will be for sale during the month of February and a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit Genesis House, an organization that assists women who are pregnant or who have children and are struggling, in renewing their hopes and dreams.

It is my personal goal to use my gifts to share the love and hope of God. Most artists I know love what they do and are generous with their time and talents when it comes to helping those less fortunate. Part of the exhibit will be a display of hope and dreams banners that our artists and patrons will be invited to write their hopes or dreams on. These will be strung in the gallery above the exhibit and our visitors throughout the month can participate, as well. I am looking forward to seeing the artwork and books for the show. Don't miss this wonderful exhibit which runs from February 6 till February 28, 2009.

For more information on Genesis House, go to genesishouse-shelter.org
Fifth Avenue Art Gallery: http://www.blogger.com/www.fifthavenueartgallery.com

Renee's Art: http://www.blogger.com/www.reneedecator.com

Hopes and Dreams Artists

Renee Decator, Bill McCoy, Beth -Anne Fairchild, Marlis Newman, Witha Lacuesta, Lois Mittleman, Mark Mittleman, Ellen Pavlakos, Pat Catsimanes, Carmen Beecher, Cindy Maronde, Tom Powers, Marg Kuhl, Jini James, Bridgette Guerzon Mills, Linda Graham, Jody Carter, Cindy Michaud, Nina Katz, Elizabeth Kaufmann, Linda Graham, Kaye Shannon, Marti Meyer, Dave Kaufmann, Nancy Mann, Susan Kessler, Suzanne Peiffer, Rudy Pacarro, Dij Pacarro, Lou Belcher, Lori Knerick, Stephanie Gibbs, Arian Armstrong, Lori Jenkins, Clare Zipperly, Julian Bennett and Betsy Heath

Happy New Year to all, best wishes for a exciting and exceptional 2009!

When life gives you prunes and little time to paint, bake a cake

dissappearing fast

I love to paint! I need to paint! Really, I need to get a number of canvasses started, finished. I will be participating in Mainstreet Masters art festival in downtown Melbourne, Florida, October 4th and 5th. That starts the outdoor festival season for me. I have so many ideas for new works...I need to paint.


I walked on the beach yesterday morning, did a lot of yard work, after that, and went to a community gala dinner last night. Friday was not art productive either; so I bake or cook. Most of my friends know how much I love to cook. Food is my other passion. I have been cooking since I was 12 years old. I cook for my family almost every night of the week. I love challenges...I may have something at a restaurant and work out the recipe to prepare it at home. Good cooks steal! They taste and decipher, add and subtract, figure it out, and they do it for the love of it. It is complicated, this passion for cooking and feeding people.


I didn't drag out my paints this weekend, they are down at my studio. I bought some lovely prune plums friday, they are in season. The result is my Hungarian Plum Cake. Serve Warm or at room temperature. I didn't steal this recipe, it was shared by a woman that Jay worked with years ago. I think that food and art go great together...they are wonderful creative outlets. So I will be sharing about both topics.


"Lovely Day" is my newest painting. The title comes from the song "Lovely Day", I have heard Maroon 5's rendition several times lately...great song.


Enjoy the art and the food.

"Lovely Day" 36"x48"

Dangers of Travel

Summer is flying by. Here it is already August, so hard to believe. I went on a wonderful trip to California in June, with my husband, Jay. Our first stop was in San francisco. Chinatown was definitely our favorite part of San francisco to explore. The shops are full of exciting sights and smells, dried sea creatures line the walls. We stopped at a small tea shop for a free tasting and checked out the fish market, where you could choose a live fish and they would club it over the head and clean it for you. Against my better judgement, we rented bicycles to ride down to Golden Gate Park and over the Golden Gate Bridge...we did not make it, got lost on the way back, I dropped my purse in the middle of an intersection, got the bungee cord that was holding my purse, caught in the sprocket disabling the bike. I finally caught Jay's attention as he peddled several blocks ahead, and on his return to assist me, his chain fell off. We sadly walked our bikes back to the bike shop and called it a day. Ah...the joys of vacationing. We also, had a mouse in the bathroom of the B&B we stayed at, tangled in the middle of the night with a cat named Anna, that slipped in through a window unannounced, I fell off a big, big rock and nearly broke my arm, monitored bat boxes at our next stop, hoping they wouldn't inadvertently slip into our open window, looked for bears as we ate smoked salmon and cheese in the woods...and much, much more...I did not know about that mouse until we left there, headed for our next destination.

I travelled to North Carolina for my annual art workshop/art camp. I always am fortunate to work with a wonderful group of artists. I took printmaking again this summer and learned some new techniques. I was invited to give a presentation about my "Road Trip" exhibition and book. I accepted because public speaking makes me nervous...I hate to say no to a challenge. I was very pleased with the reception of the talk. That is what my art is all about; connecting with others and sharing my point of view.

Have a Happy Summer! Be careful on your summer vacation.

The Show is Up, Road Trip, Impressions of a Memory

Roadtrip, Impressions of a Memory, opened May 2nd at the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery in Melbourne, Florida. The exhibit includes 27 new works; a combination of mixed media paintings and printmaking. As part of the exhibition I also displayed 4 pages from my upcoming book by the same title. The 50 page book will include color images of all the artwork, along with the stories that inspired the show. A 45 minute video that included footage from the trip along with many of my father's stories of life in Appalachia was shown at the opening . The video will soon be available for viewing via my website.

It was a great opening! I am so pleased by the response to the artwork. This was a departure from my recent body of work. It was event inspired and I wanted it to work together in conveying my respect and admiration for my father and my family's heritage. I also wanted the viewer to be open to relating it to their memories of the past. My parents Chester and Udell Webb came to the opening with my sister Joy. My brother Jerry, his wife Paula and my niece, Christa were also down from Daytona for the evening.
Special thanks to all those who encouraged and supported me during the last 4 months as I worked to produce the exhibit.

If you came to see the exhibit...thank you for coming!

The show runs through the end of May if you live nearby and get a chance to go. All the artwork is also available at http://www.reneedecator.com/ under the collection: Roadtrip, impressions of a memory. The book is available at a pre-publication price. It will be ready for delivery late June. I would love to hear your comments about the exhibit.