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Keep up with the latest art and adventures from Rene Shoemaker Art!

What Do I Mean by ‘A Sense of Place’?


When you’re walking down a dirt road, do you feel calmness and a sense of place?

When you're sitting in nature, a forest or your garden, do you feel grounded with a sense of place?

When you look up at a really tall building in a grand city, do you feel a particular excitement giving you a sense of place?

When you look out over the ocean at the vast horizon, are you connected to the cosmos, and do you feel a sense of your place in it?

When you look up at the wispy clouds in the clear blue sky, are you filled with wonder, and do you feel a sense of awe?

I do.

How can we capture that moment of wonder and awe, and keep it with us?

Art brings that to us.

Art grounds us to our inner senses, our memories, and our sense of wonder. And while creating my artworks, I aim to convey that beautiful sense of awe and wonder with you.

Through my art, I am sharing my curiosity, my sensibility, my awe, and my world view with you.

By sharing my paintings, I share what I have seen, what I have experienced, what I have perceived—can you feel it when you look at them?

Will you come along on this adventure? Can we share this beautiful world of discovery together?

We can share experiences such as...

...discovering a horse stable in the heart of New York City...

...or the mysterious journeys of a bird that walks in the rain in the Deep South.

How about dancing houses perched on a hill in a park, overlooking the church bell tower in a lively French town?

Or an exquisite, quiet lane located in the bustling metropolis of Paris?

Tell me, how would you define "a sense of place"?

I am thankful that we can share these adventures together,

-René

*all the paintings are available for purchase at http://www.reneshoemaker.com/shop-shoemaker-art

What is Creativity?

How would you define creativity? You might have a very particular definition, or it might just be a general idea.



Creativity is a topic that is dear to my heart.

I had the opportunity to lead a discussion in a language and cultural exchange group I'm part of in La Creuse. In this association, the native French speakers answer the questions in English, and, well, the native English speakers in the group reply in French (yes, that’s me!).

I was pretty excited to offer a question which seemed out of the norm; a question that I hoped would make the participants ponder a bit. The subjects that we had discussed before had to do with books, authors, the Pantheon, French history, gardening, etc.

 

What is creativity? I asked. What does creativity mean to you?

It’s funny, because for me, creativity is my life and soul. It’s in my bloodstream, and it is in everything I do.

For some of the group, the question did make them uncomfortable. I heard some groaning when I handed out the assignment.

But what wonderful responses grew out of that question, though!

The most beautiful answer, in my opinion, was the taxi driver who wrote about how he found great pleasure in driving through the French countryside, how he was connected to his car, how he found satisfaction in the act of taking people from one place to another. He described how he often transported ill people, people who needed to go to the doctor or the hospital (in the rural areas of France, the state often pays for your taxi ride to medical appointments). While driving, his conversations with the patients took their minds off their worries, and they often complimented him at the end of the ride, saying he had 'transported them away from their problems’.

The answers that came up in the group were so different than my own experiences and definition! It was a very rewarding exchange.

147 Sullivan Street (Purl Soho), Greenwich Village, NYC. Painting on silk by René Shoemaker

Now, before I let you go, I have the last painting from the San Francisco exhibit to share with you. #25: 147 Sullivan St (Purl Soho), Greenwich Village, NYC.

147 Sullivan Street is for now for sale in my online shop.

This turquoise-and-tangerine-colored urban scene is so bright and delightful, and is representative of the architecture found in Greenwich Village. Don't you just want to walk through that door and start exploring?

This vibrant painting, looking right at home in this San Francisco environment, was the one that welcomed all visitors into the gallery and exhibition.

@yollghu spinning tunes at the reception with 147 Sullivan Street watching the scene

It was rewarding to become part of the San Francisco art scene, and is a memory I will never forget.

​As 147 Sullivan Street is the last of the San Francisco exhibition artworks to share with you, I'd like to take this moment to once again thank the talented artist and master gallerist Michelle Thomas, whose biographical artwork we see here.

​What opportunities will 2025 bring for us all?

​Best wishes for a creative new year,

-René

Silk painting retreat in France: Silk & Gourmet at Manor & Maker -

Now I Understand!

Now I understand what the "Manor & Maker, Chateau Adventures in France" tagline is all about. Before I experienced the week of fun, food, and creativity at Château de Saint-Germain-des-Prés, I could only imagine what it would be like. Now I most certainly know.

I cannot express how much fun we had at the château this past week for our silk & gourmet retreat. Sel Hospitalité treated us with such care, serving us three times daily with delectable local foods; Sara & Stephen of Manor & Maker are the perfect hosts; and those creative souls Sherry, Ruthee, Brian, and Tom all created beautiful works of art. We traveled together to the local market for the day’s food and we went café hopping two days in a row. The château and the grounds are magnificent. Now we have our memories! What will next year's art retreat bring?

These two artists had fun no matter what they did or where they went!

​Before we talk about the art, let's talk about the food! Oh my goodness, remember how the retreat was called "SIlk & Gourmet"? Oof! The gourmet was in there—every moment of every day. NOT ONLY during the three luscious meals, but also for snacks, infused water breaks, afternoon treats, OMG.

I've never eaten so much wonderful food in such a short time. We were welcomed the first day with a champagne apéro, and the next morning's meal was fabulous. This whole newsletter could be filled with glowing praise for our on-site chefs, Megan & Valerie of Sel Hospitalité, but I'll try to tell you about the artwork we created, too.

We created color samples with the dye on silk. We each created our design templates, then transferred the drawing onto the silk. We stretched our silk to prepare it for the resist line and dye, then we mixed our colors, painted them onto the silk, and before we knew it we had a room full of beautiful silk paintings! Even Stephen, our host, joined us to created his very own koi silk painting.

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Here is a sampling of photos from our delightful week of creativity:

But wait!! There's more! Just as I am writing this and trying to describe our work and our week "with words" (a term I used often while teaching silk painting techniques), Manor & Maker just released a video about our art retreat. It is the perfect representation of the fantastic time we had together. And I promise, we learned art, too.

Watch the video by clicking here .

Now the cat is out of the bag: the dance party was the highlight of the week!!!!

I hope you can join us next time,

-René

Tell Me More . . .

René discusses color choices with a visitor at the Michelle Thomas Fine Art Gallery reception

We all like to talk. And express our opinions, don’t we? As I share my art with others, I need to be mindful to always ask the person I am talking to:

“Tell me more . . .”

When we’re discussing my artwork, something that I have created, if someone says “I like this purple painting” (for example), I have the habit of diving right into what I see, and telling about the technique, or the visit, or the architecture, or my vision of what it could be…

But I do think it would be more meaningful to both parties for me to say: “Tell me more . . .", so that I can learn more - more about what that person likes, what they see in my artwork, what it means to them, which colors they prefer, what memories it brings up for them, etc., etc.

Many thanks to @yollghu for providing smooth music for our event

One of the reasons to have an exhibition and reception is to share my process, my vision and my world view. But of course the artwork is static if I only share it and don’t ask for a response from the public.

Artwork #3 : Golden. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

The third painting in my San Francisco / Paris / New York exhibition is a version of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. When starting this series, this particular painting emerged in my mind's eye, as I wanted a very good memory of what San Francisco meant to the rest of the world.

The Bridge is about possibilities and welcoming travelers to its shores. I began this series with the Golden Gate Bridge and the sheer silk contrasted with the steel architecture of the bridge, creating a tension between this viewer and her new experience of space.

“What can I do with this iconic image to make it more ‘mine’?” I wondered. I repeated my design mantra while creating this drawing.

“Simplify, simplify, simplify”

is my motto when creating art. I may sketch details, but I try my hardest to leave them out of the painting and highlight color and the presence of shapes instead. The openness of the design enriches the sense of space and wonder that one feels when looking at this scene.

Painting the Golden Gate Bridge landscape. This silk was very hard to paint as it did not readily soak up the dye.

What do you think?


Tell me more . . .

-Rene

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Dates for Your Calendar

2024

July 21 - Oct 25, 2024
San Francisco / Paris / New York City : new work by René Shoemaker
Michelle Thomas Fine Art Gallery + Studio​
San Francisco, CA​
https://michellethomasfineart.com/reneshoemaker

​September 12-17, 2024
Silk Painting Art Retreat
Manor and Maker, the Château de Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Dordogne, France
https://www.manorandmaker.com/maker/2024-silkpainting

June 29 - Sept 31, 2024
Together We Dazzle
Hendershot's​
Athens, GA
https://www.christinajoystudio.com/together-we-dazzle/2024

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