Friday, February 5, 2010

THE PAINTING

painting 1
painting 2

After last weeks posts, many of you asked about the painting in our living room.  As promised, here's the story behind it - or what we know of it anyway.

When John and I moved in together (6 and half years ago!), we went to a lot of auctions and yard sales to furnish our new digs.  One Saturday, we went to an auction in a town about a half hour away.  It was an amazing estate sale with great furniture, knick-knacks, and art.

John saw this piece immediately.  He works at a comic book store and has a great appreciation for all kinds of art.  The colors and style of this painting were just too much for him to resist.  However, the size was a little limiting when it came to taking it home.  And since one does not necessarily need such a large piece of artwork, I figured he'd just ooh and aah and then let it go.  Well ...

When the auctioneer started the bidding, no one was biting.  Next thing I knew, John's hand was going up.  There was no way he was leaving it unclaimed.  There may have been one or two other bids, but John ended up winning it for a mere $45.

Winning something at an auction is such a cool feeling.  But the celebration was fleeting once we realized the obstacle ahead of us.  How were we going to get this thing home?  At the time, I was driving a Saab hatchback.  Luckily, Saabs are awesome and have huge trunks that become even "huger" when you collapse the backseat.  Unfortunately, that wasn't quite enough.  So, we ended up riding the half hour home with our heads in the most awkward positions, because the painting had to be propped up on the head rests of the front seats in order to fit in the car.  I'm pretty sure that if we had to slam on the brakes, there would have been some partial decapitation.  But we made it, and it 's been the focal point of our living room(s) ever since.

painting 3

Whenever someone comes to visit, it is an instant conversation piece.  Unfortunately, the conversation is rather brief, because you just read everything that we know about the painting.  I wish so badly that we knew more about.  So, if you have any leads or you've seen something like this before, please email me.  The only markings on the painting is an artist signature and year - Renee '64.  Any suggestions?

painting 4

12 comments:

  1. That's a gorgeous watercolor. It's obviously not the work of an amateur. Sadly, there are innumerable talented artists out there struggling to get by and it could be by any of them. I did a quick search of art-sites and didn't find anything; deeper research might yield a result. But the most important thing is that you like it!

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  2. What a gorgeous piece of work. I love the details in the faces. I can imagine you fell for it!

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  3. What a find! It looks more like an oil or acrylic to me? I like its abstract style, and the bright red/blues used. My step-grandmother painted in a very similar style. She won several awards during the 60's in New Zealand. Good luck with your mystery!

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  4. Very cool, I dig the colors and the brushstrokes (looks like oil/acrylic?). Nice frame, too. I can't decide if the kids are about to doing something sinister, or are lost or what. :)

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  5. I absolutely love this! I am determined to fill my house with one of a kind art. I think it makes it so much more special to have a cool story behind it.

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  6. That's a beautiful piece of artwork! I love the idea of going to an auction, I'm definitely going to do that sometime!

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  7. I love your blog and your style! De-lurking to say that I think the artist you are looking for is Renee Radell.

    http://www.artnet.com/artist/424443282/renee-radell.html

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  8. wow, what an amazing find! So cool, I hope you find out more about it sometime :)

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  9. Thanks for sharing the story about how you came to have that rad painting! I hope you can find out more about its origins.

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  10. it's very haunting and obviously a very talented artist. Hope you get to learn more about it.

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  11. What an amazing painting, not to mention a great price!

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  12. Wow!! Kaity is right -- that is definitely by Renee Radell. Her style is unmistakable and the date fits right in.

    Good detective work, Kaity!

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