By Craig Davis, Craigslegztravels.com
An art gallery starts out just like a canvas on an easel – a blank space until colors are applied.
The transformation happened quickly at Renee Falsetto’s Art Studio. The newest addition to the Fort Lauderdale art scene was already overflowing with color at the grand opening in November 2018, the walls filled with vibrant paintings. There were enough left over on temporary display outside in the rear courtyard to begin stocking another gallery.
All because Renee Falsetto’s mind is similarly overflowing with artistic visions that she channels into her abstract impressionist paintings.
They manifest as ideas, emotions, feelings, opinions or statements which emerge in a torrent of color on large canvases.
Each one is a creative adventure that invariably takes some twists and turns along the way.
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Paintings evolve in process
“I do have sort a general idea but it evolves over time,” she says of her approach to painting. “Usually I start with something completely different than what I end up with.
“Some paintings have two, three paintings underneath before I finally decide on something. Sometimes I start painting and an idea will come back to me – ‘Oh, I can do that on this one and combine different things.’ It sort of evolves because it’s layers and textures.”
The Ottawa, Ontario, native has been a long-time presence in the South Florida art community. The new studio/gallery on U.S. 1, south of the New River Tunnel (1112 S. Federal Highway), fulfills a long-time ambition for a space to create and show her work.
Still, the space can’t contain the creative impulses of this prolific artist, which is evident when she points out six paintings she produced in the previous two to three months.
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Falsetto not only works fast, she paints big and with a lot of color.
“I love using all kinds of colors, and I guess it’s a pretty free kind of style,” she says.
“I usually start a few at the same time. I start something and move on to something else. I get bored. Sometimes I think it’s finished and I go back to it and make it better after a while of looking at it.”
Falsetto family driven to create
While Renee Falsetto has made a name through her art – and an artful name it is – the Falsetto family name is well known in South Florida. Husband Rico, a long-time restaurateur, runs Primo’s Italian-American eatery in Miami’s DoubleTree Grand Hotel.
Their son Marc Falsetto is co-founder of the J.E.Y Hospitality Group of restaurants including Rok:BRGR, TacoCraft, Pizza Craft and others – a new TacoCraft is coming to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in early 2019. Daughter Julia Falsetto is part of the management team of J.E.Y (which stands for Just Enjoy Yourself) and another son, Gino, is a movie producer in Los Angeles.
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With the rest of her family occupied with their own creative and entrepreneurial pursuits, Renee pours heart and soul into her paintings, which she does in acrylic, oil and mixed media.
She is mainly self-taught. She acknowledges some early influence from van Gogh. But what you see in her gallery is all Renee Falsetto, and it’s constantly changing and evolving.
“Each painting has its own story,” she says. “A lot of them are emotions that I feel myself. Most of them are abstract. But if you look at the titles, that kind of helps you to see what that’s about.”
There is much to see in the new Renee Falsetto’s Art Studio. So much expression, all in a vivid array of colors.
“Often times it’s nice for people to just see what they feel from a painting and what they get out of it, not necessarily what I think it is,” she says.
Renee Falsetto’s Art Studio combines display space with work space. (Craig Davis/Craigslegztravels.com)
