Former psychologist has studied art at ccsf as well as several independent studios including formerly Leighten studios, 23rd street studios in S.F, BACAA in San Carlos and several other independent teachers. I am currently focusing on oil landscapes.

Renee McKenna, MA, lives and works in the Sunset District of San Francisco with her husband, 2 children and their dog.  Renee divides her time between her private hypnotherapy practice, teaching art to children, working with Art in Every Classroom, Inc, the non-profit that she helped found and doing her own artwork nights and weekends.

Renee's love of the sky, the sea and the city of San Francisco is reflected in her work. She has worked in acrylic for many years, and recently began experimenting with alcohol ink. 

 Though Renee is an accomplished painter and sculptor, her first love is public art.  Renee has many painted murals and mosaics in the Sunset District, including the 400 square foot tile mosaic at the South Sunset Playground  title "Nature Stream.". 

IN DIFFERENT LIGHT

I have been obsessed with photography since I was 12.  My challenge back then was, as it still is now, to present a perspective of our world that is just different enough for the viewer to take notice.  In our everyday lives we often gain insight into a problem that had been confounding us simply by taking a different approach, or if we are lucky enough, see the answer through another person's eyes.  In reality that answer had been there all along, waiting for us to discover.  Similarly, a scene that is considered mundane may become interesting under different conditions.  Those conditions could be anything - time of day, angle of view, the mindset of the viewer, the mood of the photographer.

So it is with these images that I welcome you to see our world in a different light.

I am a mixed media artist based in Northern California. My work blends conventional and unconventional materials, paints, colored pencil, book pages, inks, paper and found objects, into two and three dimensional works. Various techniques, painting, cutting, gluing, sanding and assembling found objects create my layered textures on wood panels and sculptural forms.

I love challenges, experimenting with disparate media and developing new techniques and skills. I believe in recycling and upcycling and adore texture, paints of any kind and flea market supplies. Through each step that leads to a finished surface, I try to bring out the relationship between differing objects, colors and textures; with each mistake being an irreplaceable component of my process. Figurative forms, letters and numbers are often incorporated into my work, as a graphic element or to convey a thought or theme. I am inspired by found objects, fragments of antique treasures, and everyday manufactured materials that were never intended to be art. 

On view starting October 19th 472gallery photography work of Denis Krylov. The show, “LAND ESCAPES” features 12 photographs shot during past two years in and around the city. Denis is captivated by a nonconformist and non-stereotypical. The Golden Gate Bridge barely seen through the fog is exactly how Denis envisions the bridge in contrast to how this American icon is usually represented to the world media. He is fascinated with SF cold summer nights and lonely streets of working-class Sunset. The real heroes of his photographs are the streets, landscape, and other details of urban environment. His goal is to capture a strange and intriguing mood.

I paint to express my love for my children, family and friends, to express my excitement for life and its abundance.  I paint to express my happiness and my sorrows. 

I paint intuitively, but every painting has a story; a story that overflows with emotions. One day I paint flowers blooming and dancing for my mother, for a sick friend who has cancer, or sometimes just to say hello to a stranger! Another day, I paint the ocean, its extreme beauty and complexity, its abundance and its harmony.  And when I paint the figure, I ponder on who we are; I ponder on our complex emotions.

In the process of painting intuitively, I venture into a world of extraordinary discoveries, and one of these discoveries is whatever my feelings of the moment are, happiness or sorrow, I paint vibrant and colorful paintings full of life and excitement!  How can this be?  I choose to surrender to the process, and secretly dare to believe that perhaps I am meant to send all this creative energy to the world, to heal and to inspire.  Silently, this energy will ripple just like the flapping of a butterfly’ wings from far away.

Johane Amirault, 

Contemporary Artist

My current abstract works are predominantly influenced by my interest in forms, textures and design elements found in architecture, nature, and clothes.

Now days, I mostly work in Acrylic and Mixed Media on canvas and paper.  I thrive on the challenge of creating most of my paintings with just 2 to 3 colors; while my color palate is limited, my color range is not-I have used pretty much every color in the palate. It is true that most of my works are very colorful and vibrant, but I have also painted black and whites. In my current works, I use embossing techniques and materials like hand-made paper, sand and pieces of some of my old works to create interesting design elements and textures. 

My creative process typically begins when I become inspired by a certain interesting design, shape, form or pattern. I then cover the canvas rather intuitively, inserting elements of the subject matter. I mostly work from memories but sometime view personally photographed images for reference and inspiration. This gives me a start but what the end result is going to be is a whole different, exciting and sometimes frustrating story.

If you'd like to see or want to know more about my works, please don’t hesitate to contact me.