 Renee Decator
Indialantic , Florida-
United States
Acrylics-
Nature
I love to laugh, I am a Southern girl, a Christian, married with two sons, I have a weiner dog named Spike, I have a strange fascination with squirrels (love/hate) and crows. I once saved a duckling from being eaten by a crow...I have some truly wonderful friends and a great family. I love life and love to share that passion through my artwork.
website:
www.reneedecator.com
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Artist Blogs
Something Exciting happened today
2007-10-06
I got a present this morning, a suprise gift. I walk in my neighborhood regularly for exercise but live near the beach and haven't been taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the ocean air and gorgeous view right down the street. It has been my goal to walk the beach on Saturday mornings, for the last month or so. I almost didn't go this morning, it was getting late and I had things to do, but my husband Jay agreed to join me for a quick walk.
The weather has been rough for several weeks here in Indialantic, high winds and waves. We weren't sure we would have much beach to walk but found the tide just coming in. I discovered a few sea beans, early on and that always entices me to scour the sand for treasures. We are making our way through all kinds of flotsam, natural and manmade when a shape caught my eye. A little turtle shape way up near the dune. Lots of sea turtle nest had been disturbed, but this was a not an eggshell, it was a turtle. I picked it up and immediately thought it was dead, but it's tiny eye was open and the light caught a faint reflection. We rushed to turtle to the surf to wash away the dried and caked sand and Jay thought the turtle moved. The surf was too rough to consider returning the turtle to sea.
We rushed down the beach, back to our truck and drove down 3 or 4 miles to the Sea Turtle Preservation Society. I cupped the turtle in my hands protecting him from the sun. He never moved, but I could see his tiny eye, and it felt like he was alive. I carried the turtle inside and met a volunteer and explained our find. She peeked into my hands and picked up the turtle and he started to immediately move his flippers and his head.
The little loggerhead was not a hatchling, but had washed back to shore due to the offshore winds. He would have died, too exhausted to protect himself from the sun or seabirds.
What a great present this morning, a wonderful suprise.
Road Trip
2007-09-25
Road Trip!
I went on a road trip this summer. Probably not the type you would expect, not what the mind may conjure up at the mention of the phrase. But, it was great, really great, a pilgrimage. My traveling companions were my 86 year old father and my 19 year old son. Our mission was all about my dad and his desire to "go home" to the mountains where he was raised, where all his childhood memories took place, memories that were stirring in him. I have always adored and respected my father. He is a man of fine character, he is compassionate and generous and humble. He remembers all the names and details of his childhood and young adulthood, which makes for some wonderful tales. This was a trip down memory lane, well...country roads.
My dad was born in 1921, in Borderland Camp in Kentucky. Borderland was a coal mining camp where families lived and worked. They bought their groceries at the company store and usually didn't have anything left over. My dad comes from a family of 12. Seven of his siblings,the remainder of his family are spread throughout the south. Several of them still live in Kentucky, not too far from home.
One of the objectives of this trip was to locate the land where my father's paternal grandparents had lived. It was the farm where he spent summers , where he would travel to throughout his childhood to pick apples from the orchard and carry sacks of them home on the running boards of his dad's truck.
His instruction to me, the driver, was to take it slow as we drove through Louisa KY and over the bridge into Fort Gay, WV where his dad was born. We were looking for "a road going almost straight up the side of the mountain". That's it? The extent of my directive? Just when I am thinking were are going to be disappointed, my dad says, "stop here and let me run into this little store and ask someone". Okay, my dad is 86, so this farm was around some 80-100 years ago...I am thinking that no one is going to remember this place, but here he comes with a smile on his face, "we just passed it, it's around that bend". We found the land where the farm and my fathers fond memories were. We drove "straight up the side of the mountain" up a winding one-lane road, past neat little homes and mobile homes and a few shacks that my father remembered. We got to the top and a lot had changed. My father was not so sure...it looked so different. So here we are at a fork in the lane, my dad steps out of and says he is going to go knock on a door and see if he can talk to someone. This is a little alarming to me, we are up a holler, don't know anyone and he wants to knock on doors. Some of these people live here because they don't want people knocking on their door. I looked around and said, "go to that door daddy, it has flowers and a welcome sign". So that was the direction he headed. A man appeared on the driveway and made his way down to my father. I was waiting with my son when my dad motioned for me to join him. I get chills as I am writing this...we were in the right place, this man knew my father's family and many of the people from my father's memories. My grandfather had sold his father the land decades earlier. We had gone to the right door. My father got his wish to reminisce, to remember. On top of that mountain we found the little family cemetery where my great grandparents were buried. Some of the men who still live up there stopped their work to "visit" with my dad, talk about the old days...about where certain people in their lives had ended up, who had died, who was still around.
For anyone who may think this was coincidince, well... I don't believe in coincidince. This was a gift for someone special, a God thing...and this was only one of many on this road trip. A trip that we three will always cherish.
I have so many fond memories of this trip, I am hoping to share them through some new art that is still in my head. I don't know if it could capture the impact this trip has had on me, but here's hoping.
Renee
Where to Start, How to Begin
2007-09-20
All this is talk of blogging, should I? Do I need to ? Do I have time? I do love to talk.
I am not bragging, but I lead a blessed life...I see it that way. It is never boring and there is usually something to laugh about every day. I love life and the strangest things can get me so excited. I am fascinated with the all of creation, the plants and animals and even a few people. I guess what I desire to express as an artist is the uniqueness of my subjects, and my perspective of that.
My support system is a wonderful family and some very special friends;I live with all males there's my husband, my two sons and my dog Spike, (my weiner dog). This can be tough on a girl, with all this testosterone floating around. Luckily, Spike can talk and that often is a source of distraction. I don't know if other families speak through their dog, but Spike has a voice in all we do. My oldest son does the best Spike, then me, then my husband; who makes him sound somewhat Mexican. Thinking back, I don't believe I have ever heard my youngest son speak Spike. Spike is clever...he can say what no one else can. He can ask you what your problem is, call you out, and declare just how much he loves you. He can say things that I might not, like "Diddy,(his word for daddy) is a mean mean man"or "you smell funny". This can be a handy tool. I don't think he knows he talks, or exactly how important he is to all of us. My husband says he has a pea brain. I think he knows the phrase "pea brain" because of my frown upon hearing that phrase. You will hear a lot about Spike.
My art studio is called ARTESCAPE, for I find that escape is part of my art process. I have always been a dreamer... imaginative. I say I am painting my passions, and I hope that is always true. I have had many adventures in my life and they all have played a part in shaping who I am and how I see my world. I have coached little league, helped run a autobody shop, been to Hawaii twice, sang in a country band for 3 years, built furniture, sewed my own clothes, caught a 5ft shark on the beach, lost 100 lbs., led tiger cubs (boy scouts), coached Odyssey of the Mind, raised two teenagers, cooked dinner for 40 friends, been married 24 years, been to Paris for the food and art, sold a cow painting to buy a live cow. I said it was never boring.
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Stitches - acrylic - 24" x 24" - $$595 |
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Comments
Aruna Nair
2007-10-21 00:48:44
What I love about your paintings is that they are like a collection of short stories. Lovely colours, rather folksy. I love them | Sandy Bennett
2007-10-09 09:41:06
Thanks Renee. I really like your work - bright color and bold child-like views. "Ono Mala" - wow! I have always been envious of how children can so simply capture the essence. I very much enjoyed your blogs. I appreciate when someone gets such pleasure out of small everyday things that most people don't even notice. Guess that's why I like to paint scraggy trees and roots and rocks - Ha! I too don't believe in coindidence - I call em "meant to be" - things that lead you on a path you might never have picked.
I came to Indialantic once - stayed at "Turtle Run". Saw turtles(big as tables) come on the beach one night to lay eggs. Wondrous! I also believe I lead a blessed life and I wonder all the time what I have done to deserve this, so I try to give a little back thru art... | Debi Pickler
2007-10-08 22:46:16
Hi Renee!
Thanks for stopping by my site. Sure do appreciate your kind words. "Let It Snow" is one of my favorites. Took 60 hours to complete as I used a technical pen & ink (.13) to illustrate this moment in time.
Love your work! Love the colors, the subject matter and your technique. You can tell you have a passion for what you do. As for living by the ocean, life does not get any better especially for creating!
Thank you again for looking through my site. May you continue to inspire all of us with your wonderful art!
Take care,
Debi | Cassandra Donnelly
2007-10-08 22:20:31
Renee, thanks so much for stopping by my site. I didn't know I didn't have images posted as I am fairly new-as far as using the site goes, and thought I posted 20 images a while back. I fixed the problem and now have some images there.
Your art is so lovely. The composition is well-balanced and the colors really pop out. The themes and images are peaceful. It reminds me of "all things lovely and beautiful."
Stay blessed!
Cassandra | Suzie Majikol-Maier
2007-10-08 21:37:26
Thank you Renee. I love animals and nature too, and I really like your colorful, whimsical enchanting artwork.
Suzie | More Comments
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