Yes, she could always draw, but why did she wait so long to paint?

So much color inside, so much to see, so much to say!

My name is Renee Cohen, my style of painting is expressive, vibrant, noted for movement, direction, and shapes to draw you in. I want your attention to contemplate the space, to find a mood, to keep moving around the painting and to enjoy the colors.

​It was during COVID that I visited old canvases hidden away in my attic. I had previously asked, "were they any good, or even good enough? Yes, I said in 2020!" So I began on a new journey, one with abandon, being less judgemental and trusting my inner visual sense. It was my time to do art for art's sake, to not be confined by style or type, to let the color, line and design speak back to me and to respond with confidence.

​Surprisingly, after I first unlocked my attic door and gave new light to the paintings in 2020, I soon met a patron who purchased a large oil as a gift for his married daughter and son-in-law. They loved the impressionistic scene of a site in New York City. Two other liberated canvases sold at local art shows. My creativity was confirmed and I was free to paint. 

Yes, there had been periods of diligence over the years, courses at MICA, a return to college in my 30's for a second degree in Art History and Studio Art, many museum trips, a Smithsonian Art and Culture Tour of Italy and art lectures, but always to see and not to do. Not until 2020, the year of COVID and the start of my husband's serious medical decline, did I turn to painting with purpose, enthusiasm and psychological reward. 

​I credit Genie Arnot, CEO of Social Studio of Baltimore, of helping me to unleash the internal creativity and courage to "just paint." I found her studio, a creative sanctuary, at just the right time in 2020 despite the chaos of COVID and my own personal challenges. Painting became my balm. 

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I invite you, the viewer, to see what I have seen.

Renee Cohen