Artist Portfolio Magazine’s 10 Art Competition

Renee Kroeker – Stanten Island, NY

The spark that ignited my work over the past four years was the (re)-reading of the book “Women Who Run With Wolves” by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. While engaging in the idea of a “Wild Woman” that lies within all females as an “endangered species” and the exploration of original fairy tales, folklore and myths that were intended to nourish this healthy beast, I began to view my own journey from daughter-child to adult-woman through the lens of a fairy tale. I started to reflect on the questions: “What am I trying to escape? What am I running towards?” “As women, how do we discern when it is time to flee and when is it safe to stay?” And, the overarching question that haunts me, “Why is danger so seductive?”

My oil paintings generally begin with one of these questions in mind and a collage I create out of various printed images that I refer to for inspiration. I allow the story to tell itself and emerge in often unexpected directions. I am drawn to the collision of wholesomeness and edge.

My pieces are for those who are intrigued by the hidden realm of the female, those who know that there is always something going on beneath the surface, and that too much quiet for too long is never a good thing.