RENOIR, STILL LIFE WITH STRAWBERRIES

Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 16 IN.

This piece is the second in a series I plan to continue to explore. It is based off of Renoir’s Still Life with Strawberries, 1914 in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum. Each color and stroke of this piece is from his palette in that painting, as well as the texture in the layers. The reason for this series is that he was my first introduction into art, first relationship with an artist which made me want to explore painting.

When people ask me where my love for art began, I always cite my after school art class in 5th grade at 10 years of age. It was during that time I was made aware of the Impressionists and my forever favorite artist, Renoir. You may be asking, “Do what?” Yep, you read right. My first and continued influence for my work, even with the act thereof is Pierre-Auguste Renoir. I understand how this may be confusing with my body of work primarily being non-objective so I decided to take my style and underscore his influence by picking paintings then emulating their hues, tones and brushstrokes in my style.

Also, Renoir symbolizes, for me, the abiding love and support my late parents had in me. The reason I have so many books and other accouterments by Renoir because they often gifted me things relating to him, knowing my love of his work as well as my love of art. To this day, I have hanging in my bedroom a print, beautifully fabric-matted and gilt-framed, of Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party. On the back of that piece is a note written in marker from my parents, memorializing my 13th birthday that reads “To our little ‘Renoir’, love Mom and Dad.”