Horses have made Renée Alyson’s heart leap since she was a little  girl - that part has never changed.

The reasons became more complicated and the cast grew to include chickens, dogs, birds, insects and whatever else wanders past her studio window.

She has never had to search for a subject. It grazes in the field, roosts in the barn or dies on the road. Animals are constant shape shifters affording endless combinations of the design elements.  As she explains, “they abstract themselves.”

Her work leans representational, but she must abstract the subject somewhat to make her statement. The subject matters’ relationship to the format is often the primary concern when first designing a work. Sometimes a piece takes a fully abstract turn then returns to the figurative with renewed interest and energy. That is what keeps it interesting for her.

Renée Alyson’s studio is located on 20 acres in rural southwest Missouri shared with a rotating cast of animals plus a killer asparagus bed.

She studied at  Washington University in St. Louis and eventually taught at the university level. Her work often goes beyond her studio into workshops, private and/or public tutorials and volunteering for agencies that benefit  from her expertise.

Renée’s work has appeared in solo exhibitions and national competitions including Watercolor USA, Prints USA, plus galleries in New York, Chicago, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City and Arkansas.

When not in the studio she and her dog  are out with camera in hand and has been known to return with whatever tantalizing object she discovered on the side of the road.