currently

…in the studio working on a new series.

renayshaffer.com 

is now live!

i'm hoping that this new site with its fresher look is easier on the eyes and interesting to navigate, and am looking forward to a slightly more focused path (but of course always reserving the right to deviate from time to time :-)

there is a blog page on the website that will serve as a place for my ramblings, news and new painting info, shows etc, or you can sign up for updates/new painting notifications.  i'm tempted to simply use instagram instead of posting actual blog entries but we'll see how it goes.  it's pretty easy to take a photo and caption it…and maybe i'd be more inclined to do more in progress shots, which people always seem to like (as do i when i look at other artists work).

thank you for checking in, wherever you may be!  the internet is an amazing thing.

have a wonderful day,

renay

renayshaffer.com   

who are you looking at?

3x5", acrylic on panel

this is joshua, whom i adopted from SCRAPS here in spokane, after he was found with his siblings in a bag on the side of the road, as cast away tiny kittens. he was a sick little guy when i first brought him home, but he is now healthy and extremely demanding, as all cats should be.  and talks non stop.   honestly, it's hard to take yourself too seriously when you are having an earnest conversation with a cross-eyed siamese.

  

the shower curtain game

3x5", acrylic on panel

this is caleb.  i adopted him from a rescue organization in oregon state 6 years ago, and can barely remember life before him and his little brother joshua came along.  they are both siamese with big voices and big personalities, eat raw organic food, and BELONG on the bed.

perspective 2

6x6", acrylic on canvas panel

perspective

6x6", acrylic on canvas panel

looking at the future

6x6", oil on gessobord

sold

Jade in Paris

24x30", acrylic on canvas

commission

a pause in my thoughts

6x6", watercolor on paper

nfs

the way we were

6x6", watercolor on Aquabord

sold

hope

6x6", oil on Gessobord

sold

3 cherries

6x6", watercolor on Aquabord

i'm still trying to decide if i like this Aquabord thing…it's definitely different than watercolor paper (loose wet smoothly blended washes are near impossible as the paint soaks into the clay surface immediately), but the lifting capabilities are really great.  in reading about other artists' experiences with it, their complaints (and joys) seem to be similar, and i realize i need to work with it more to really find out how well we can get along! 

pear study

6x6", oil on gessobord

mango tango

5x7", watercolor on Aquabord

strawberry on a windowsill (study)

5x7", watercolor on Aquabord

nfs

take a step and you'll see

18x36", acrylic on canvas

i have a deep connection to water, probably because i grew up in a coastal town...and as i got older, amid teenage angst and adult ruminations, being near the water became a sort of therapeutic salve for me.  standing at the edge of the ocean watching faithful rhythmic waves and bigness of it all reminds me to find perspective, breathing deeper in the naturally cleaner air i can't help but exhale some stress, hearing gulls and waves instead of traffic or technology...all these things help bring me back to who i am, and simplify my oft swirling thoughts.  lakeside, peering into water close to me, as it reflects the sky and has it's own rhythm of gentler waves, i tend to find calmness in the patterns of rocks and light and shadow.  i settle down.

though my love for being near water has always been so strong, being in it has always been a different story.  unless i can see what is going on around me and exactly what i'm going to step on or touch, there is a paralyzing fear that grips me.  rational logic completely vanishes; i can't breathe, panic sets in and i just want out.

so i find it interesting how much i have paralleled this in life at times.  a few (ok, a lot of) blind turns have cost me in the past, and as a result, i have adapted to rely on my immediate view and present situation to keep my perspective.  there is value in that, of course...but there is also value in taking a breath and taking a step, even with limited vision beyond the present...clinging to the faith that the bigger world around me will still hold me, even if for the moment i'm not sure how.

karen's angel

8x10", acrylic on canvas

i don't usually post commission pieces on my blog or website, mainly because they are often a personal and private nature between myself and the client, plus usually not my own design or concept.  not to mention, i rarely photograph them in progress.  i also rarely paint a piece using the grisaille method, but this time i did...AND i photographed it during progression!  the main challenge of this painting was obviously the faded photo and poem printed over it, so the simplest way to stay on track and develop it in an organized fashion with less risk of overemphasizing color here or there, seemed to be to take care of the lights and darks first, then glaze with color.  i have to admit, as i painted this sweet puppy, i pretty much fell in love with her.  hopefully i captured the innocence and simplicity of her love for her guardian, in an un-stylized, direct way.  

{and of course, i had supervision...}

organic cherry

5 x 7", oil on canvas

sold

orange slice

4 x 6", oil on canvas

cherries reflecting windows

5 x 7", acrylic on canvas

sold

hummingbird

6 x 8", oil on cradled wood panel

yes, this is reworked from the painting a few weeks back - this darling little girl sitting on her feeder in arizona.  the background never sat right with me: the color, though accurate from the original photo, did nothing for the painting, in my opinion, and the look overall was too static. here's to experimentation and never letting a painting become too precious. :-)