4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Visual arts, literature,
theater, music & more
‘I’ll be an art student all my life’
ASTORIA ARTIST RENEE ROWE PURSUES THE ADVENTURE OF ART MAKING
By DWIGHT CASWELL
“When we moved to Asto-
ria in 2015, I promised myself
to paint full time,” Renee
Rowe says. “I have painted al-
most every day for about two
years so far. I have a lot of
growing to do in my art, and,
being older, I didn’t want to
look back on my life and say,
‘I managed galleries and sold
other artists’ work.’”
That’s what she had been
doing in Colorado, the most
recent stop in a long and
eventful occupational trip
before arriving in Astoria.
Rowe’s fi rst stop was at
Rutgers University where she
took her fi rst art class, despite
having no background in art.
Her instructor was pop artist
Roy Lichtenstein. “Going to
college blew my mind,” she
says, “and opened a whole
new world to me.”
That world included
becoming a social worker
(“with a case load of jazz
musicians”) and later a
computer consultant to major
corporations. She didn’t like
the corporate world though
and decided to move on.
She worked in art galleries,
eventually owning one, and
took a detour into designing
aquaponic systems. All the
time she was making art in
her spare time, and when she
fi nally decided to follow her
heart by painting, she began
looking for a new place to
do it. She and her husband,
James, checked out the
Northwest to be closer to her
grandkids and to the water.
Portland was “too big, busy
and expensive,” but spending
one day in Astoria convinced
them to make the town their
home.
Rowe believes that our
“
SUBMITTED PHOTO
“View of Astoria II” by Renee Rowe.
PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
Renee Rowe poses for a portrait at Grace Episcopal Church in Astoria, where she recently
showed her paintings.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
society, “is in a period of
change. We want a break-
through, not just to tear down
but to build up. I’d like in a
small way to give something
back, to use my art for good.”
That might include teach-
ing, or opening a gallery, or
simply continuing to paint.
Rowe seems open to almost
anything, but whatever she
does she will continue to
paint. “I’ll be an art student all
my life,” she says. “I’ve been
in love with art all my life, but
that doesn’t necessarily make
me a great artist. However,
when I’m in the zone, it’s like
heaven. There’s no stress.
We’re spiritual creatures, and
I feel a kind of oneness with
everything. It’s euphoric.”
Today, Rowe continues
to paint in her garage studio
in Astoria. She’s had a show
of her work at Grace Epis-
copal Church and exhibits
her paintings at Fairweather
House & Gallery in Seaside.
“I’m learning how to look at
light and shadow in a new
way. I’m learning to see light
differently,” she says. “It’s
an adventure. Landscapes,
cityscapes, abstract works, it
all interests me, and we’ll see
what happens.”
How to characterize
Rowe’s work? She is known
for both her Northwest land-
scapes and her abstract paint-
ings. Of her landscapes she
says, “I am totally enchanted
and cannot imagine ever
tiring of attempting to capture
the majesty of this wondrous
place. I hope to encourage the
viewer to appreciate our envi-
ronment and help to save it.”
Of her abstract works she says
that she never knows what’s
going to happen: “It’s very
freeing, like playing a game.
Recently, the works have
several elements that include
a movement of light fi elds,
boxes and color transitions.”
“If you call me any-
thing,” Rowe says, “call me
an impressionist or abstract
painter.” She doesn’t con-
sider the label important: “I
don’t necessarily want to
be famous, and I was never
really interested in the money.
That’s not the reason I paint.
I want to please myself and at
the same time inspire people
and lift their spirits.”
As for the future, Rowe
may decide to open a new gal-
lery in Astoria. “In a gallery
I like people to feel welcome
and to enjoy themselves, and
if you like a painting and it
would please you to see it ev-
ery day, you should have it.”
If she does return to the
gallery business, though, it
will not be to the exclusion
of making art. “That’s where
I would have my studio,”
she says, “and whether it’s
through my work or the work
of others, I would like to
make a contribution to the art
world.”
“Ilwaco Port” by Renee Rowe.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
“Ocean View” by Renee Rowe.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
“Contra Punto” by Renee Rowe.