What would a child born to a musical family become when he or she grows up? A musician, you’d say. Well, not always. Adele Renault, who was born into a musical family didn’t, instead, she turned into an artist, thanks to all the encouragement she received from her family.
Today, this Belgian artist has created a niche for herself with her artistry. Her favorite subjects are common pigeons and people that she realistically depicts on canvas. She chose these subjects because these two are present in every city in abundance. What sets her work apart is her distinct portraiture technique that’s immediately relatable. She paints with the same meticulous details, whether it’s the feathers on a pigeon or wrinkles on the face of an old woman.
Raised on a farm in the Belgian Ardennes, Renault’s family urged her to travel and experience the world on her own, when she was merely 14. She visited Venezuela to attend a semester and then traveled to Brighton, England. She employed her travels fruitfully, studying visual arts that ranged from classical oil painting to modern spray can graffiti.
Renault’s interest in art led her to enroll in Academie Royale des Beaux-Art in Brussels, Belgium. After graduation, she worked in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and is currently based in Los Angeles, USA.
Renault’s inspiration comes from what she sees the most. Living in an urban environment, she watches pigeons and people the most. It’s her artistic abilities that enable her to portray her subjects in such magnificent details. She works in her studio and on an ideal day starts painting as early as six in the morning.
Renault prefers oil paints and loves to paint on linen, canvas, and paper. She prefers oil paints because these slow-drying paints can be blended in endless ways, as compared to acrylic paints. However, in her outdoor works, she uses spray paints. What’s unique about her work is her ability to create both very large-scale canvases and very small postcard-sized ones. Her biggest canvas measures nine by five meters!
Renault’s stunning works can be seen on her website and can be purchased online.
Adele Renault
