Etsy Seller Spotlight...The Whimsical Art World of Renie Britenbucher

Renie Britenbucher has one of the most fun and joyful Etsy shops. Her paintings are colorful, light-hearted and whimsical folk art style and they just put a smile on my face. Renie was honored to be a winner in the annual Artists' Choice Awards on eBay. Here are some excerpts from my interview with Renie...


Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm a full-time artist from northeastern Ohio. I've been painting professionally for around 30 years. I've done all sorts of painting from murals to spontaneous spiritual paintings on commission, to portraits and lots of folk art. I developed the whimsical folk art style over the last 10 years.

What is your art background?
I am mostly self taught. I had 4 years of art in high school and then some classes over the years, in water color mostly. I attended University of Kentucky in the mid 70's.


How long have you been painting?
I've been painting and drawing all my life, but professionally, for around 33 years.

How would you describe your style of painting?
It's folk art, but whimsical or modern flavored folk art. I used to do more primitive style, but it's evolved a bit.

Do you work in any other media/do any other arts/crafts?
I love absolutely every form of creativity. I did mosaics, drawing, mixed media, clay sculpture, jewelry. I mostly do painting, but love it all.

What inspires you?
Life. And, the child inside me inspires me the most.


Do you sell your work anywhere besides Etsy?
Yes, I do commission work. I've been selling original paintings on eBay for the last 7-8 years. I've sold my work all over the world, which is a wonderful benefit of selling my work online.

What is your favorite piece?
My favorite pieces are what I call my "Tribute To Vince Guaraldi" series. I started these several years ago. They are winter scenes with kids ice skating, sled riding and various other fun stuff in the winter and snow. The reason I made them tribute pieces is because when I would paint them, I would always hear the song from the Charlie Brown Christmas called "Christmas Time Is Here". The music was written by Guaraldi as was a lot of other Peanuts music. I love the music and it really inspired the paintings. A really cool side note to this is that David Guaraldi, the son of Vince (who is now deceased) found me on eBay and purchased one of the tribute paintings. It was probably one of the most wonderful things ever, for me!