Renée Patton Evans Featured in Sally Little Danyo Gallery

From April 27-June 1, Renée Patton Evans will be featured in the Sally Little Danyo Members' Sales Gallery.

This gallery provides our member artists an opportunity to sell their work on an ongoing basis. Selected works are exhibited in individual and small group exhibits.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Embracing this phase as a “re-emerging artist,” I am searching for my place in the world of creating. The mixing of bold colors with thick paint is a far cry from the colored pencils and watercolors I explored in my youth. I am loving that it is much more about the process now, and less the end goal. In this series of paintings, I allowed myself to revel in the exploration of color and forget about the finished piece. Being in the moment and experimenting with mediums is just the beginning.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Renée Patton Evans was born the youngest into a family of artists. Her mother was a portrait painter and later depicted scenes from her visits to Africa and the Southwest. Her father was a watercolorist in World War II and later focused on his poetry. Two brothers became artists, the third a drummer, so naturally, her parents discouraged her from going to art school and instead laid the path for her to attend Millersville University, where she studied Special Education and Psychology. 

Wren | Acrylic    | $325

During her early years of teaching, Renee dabbled in the arts, entering local exhibitions and gathering a few commissions. After marrying fellow artist Rob Evans, she began a notecard business of early paintings. These card designs eventually became more illustrative, representing birds, butterflies, and other images of the natural world. Her first solo exhibit, which included the original drawings and paintings for the notecards, was held at the North Museum of Nature & Science in Lancaster, PA. One of the few watercolors in the series, “Purple Irises,” is in the collection of the Lancaster Museum of Art.      

While raising a family, Renée set her personal and artistic endeavors aside and co-founded Sugar Mountain Workshops, a music and art camp geared towards young children. As her children grew, she taught more advanced art classes to adults and homeschooled children, including her own two children, Lucas and Quinn.

In 2018, she joined the York Art Association board of directors and volunteered with the Hospitality Committee, which led to connecting with other artists with similar circumstances. The opportunities here at YAA have been key in the journey of re-emerging as an artist.