imagine a long, winding, tree-lined road,
running along a large bluff that protects it from the storms, and you have begun to imagine the Summer’s Rest of
Rena MacQueen’s childhood. Although MacQueen is a nationally known local artist, unknown to her she began
to hone in on those talents at a very young age. Her family’s house faced the Intracoastal Waterway, and while she
played and wandered around, MacQueen began to notice things: The way the light would reflect off of the sea
grass during different months, the way the salt from the water would stick to the area it flooded after high tide
and glisten in the sunlight. And although MacQueen had not yet begun painting, she taught herself how to read
the light.
“I can remember as a child the thrill of seeing the marsh grasses showing the first glimmer of turning from
gold to green in the spring. It’s a brilliant lively citron green with orange undertones that seem to glow,”
MacQueen explains. “I would love to see the endless combinations of colors from the effects of wind on the sur-face
of the water and grasses.”
Her Summer’s Rest homeplace was purchased by MacQueen’s parents, David and Janice Powell, in 1971
from an elderly woman who had spent most of her life summering there. After meeting with the Powells, and
seeing their love for the property and dedication to restoring it to its original beauty, the woman agreed to sell.
Stories began to spark the need for MacQueen’s creativity.
“I always heard tales growing up of how the entire length of dirt road (many miles) would be lit by lanterns
that servants would constantly tend by running back and forth. The parties would bring the wealthiest people
in the country…dry ice would be brought in and placed on the lawns while servants would fan the chilled air
around it to cool the guests,” MacQueen says of the nearby Pembroke Jones estate.
As a child she began to explore the estate, and MacQueen started to discover her desire to capture the
magical essence of the grounds that she called home. She knew she needed to create — to capture this
beauty somehow, but she wasn’t quite sure how.
“I remember as a child trying to paint the trees and the water and feeling frustrated in my lack of ability
to capture its beauty,” she explains. “That feeling of frustration and inadequacy made me quit painting as a
teenager and I didn’t pick up a paint brush again for 20 years. I mistakenly thought that talent was some-thing
that you either had or didn’t have.”
Inspired by the beauty she was able to see day-in and day-out, MacQueen decided to tackle it again. She
began reading every book about painting that she could find, and watching videos on techniques and styles.
When she felt ready, MacQueen enrolled in a workshop with visiting en plein air artist John Poon. MacQueen
learned so much from Poon that she re-enrolled in his classes whenever he was teaching in the area.
“He is an incredible teacher,” MacQueen remembers. “I took his class about five times, he started
saying, ‘You again?’” As time passed, MacQueen also studied under Perry Austin, Gavin Brooks, Chris
Morel, Kim English and Mike Rooney.
By studying under these artists, MacQueen was able to use her inspiration from Summer’s Rest to
develop her personal style and techniques.
“I like to start with a warm earthy brown under painting because I feel that it portrays the warmth I see in
the landscape. I like to spend a lot of time on this stage and work on the shapes before adding any detail,”
she says.
MacQueen then spends hours layering colors and textures to ensure that she has the proper backing
to move on.
“I back away a lot from the canvas at this stage to better see the main forms and composition and make many changes before
I go on,” she explains. “I wipe things out over and over again. I can spend hours wiping it out and starting over until I like it.”
“In the afternoon just before dark the air seems to have a glow that lights up everything with a warm orangeish-greenish yellow cast,”
MacQueen says. “When I look across that marsh I wish that I had a million years to live to paint all the changing colors and light I see
there. I think about all the other eyes throughout time that have loved it too.”
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