Renee Leopardi

Renee Leopardi is an award-winning pastel painter residing and exhibiting in New Jersey. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Renee earned an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts and pursued her love of art through self-study and workshops.

Working primarily in soft pastel since 2012, Renee has expanded her art career to include pastel painting and drawing instruction. She finds continued inspiration while working with students. Her classes and workshops cover a variety of subjects, including seascapes, floral, still life, local seasonal landscapes of southern New Jersey, marshes, creeks, the Pinelands, farmland, and portraiture.

Renee’s thoughts about her art:

“In the end I paint for one reason: It makes me happy. Whether you are viewing one of my paintings or painting along with me in a class, I am working to take people to a place where their heart is happy too. The landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes that I paint have become a place anyone can go. Through expressive mark-making, textures, and color, the paintings have a familiarity without specificity of location or time. The paintings serve as a tour guide for a memory, feeling, or even a dream.

Art brings us together. Even the controversial art. The world needs art.”

‍