Biography - Reine River
Reine has collected many unique experiences in her lifetime as both an individual and an artist. Raised in France and then arriving in America as a young girl, Reine developed a love of travel which still continues to venture and influence that work that inspired her today. Among other things, this love of travel eventually brought her to the wide and open plains of the Great American West, where she discovered the rich fabric of "life on the range".
As she pursued her artistry in numerous environments and cultures, the one that Reine has continued to feel the strongest love for has been that of the American West. Through her Father's ranch in southern California, they have shared a common interest and affinity. From rodeos to ranch life, this devoted horsewoman has captured her experiences through her paintings and photographic media. She is an accomplished artist who has numerous exhibits in the United States and overseas. She has proudly been and is presently being collected by private collectors and major corporations through out the U.S. and internationally. Her formal education is in fine arts with an MFA, from Otis Art Institute, in Los Angeles, California. She has lectured, taught and exhibited in Universities in California, and is represented in Los Angeles, California.
"For many years I traveled all over the southwest. I started to photograph rodeo cowboys and cowgirls both behind the scene and in action. I soon found myself cantering towards another venue, the American ranch family, and the beauty of the open spaces in which they lived. Which now leads me to my own back forty, California's very own contemporary, American cowgirl. A lifestyle of a very independent, free spirited, and devoted horsewoman."
To further describe her passion and love of the West came, Reine's Cowgirl Poetry, usually featured with her paintings and through publications. She hasCl also completed work on a joining of her poetry with music featured with some very accomplished musicians. Her work has been recorded and she has performed live in various venues, such as the Gene Autry Museum in California, the Western Music Association in Arizona, and Cowboy Poetry shows throughout the U.S. Her poems and stories depict her life as she portrays and paints the life she lives!
This marriage of painting, photography and poetry will engage the heart and move the soul of the West. "The way I would best describe my work is that it gathers a bold and impressionistic view of a Western lifestyle, as far as one's horizon can see."