Coconut Grove-based Lisa Remeny colors our world

“A Glorious Summer Morning.” (Photo courtesy of Lisa Remeny)

Lisa Remeny draws her inspiration from the luxurious natural scenery of Florida.

Her artwork is an homage to nature, particularly to the tropics under which she grew. It is filled with blue skies and plants that practically define the Sunshine State.

Remeny was born and raised in Miami Beach but had a chance to live elsewhere before making her return. She attended the California College of the Arts then, after graduation, went on to live throughout the Caribbean. While sailing and making stopovers in different islands, she says she basked in the beauty of nature.

“In my 20s, I moved to the Caribbean island of Jamaica and maintained a home there for a decade. This facilitated my ability to devote my life to painting, and I continued making my living that way,” Remeny recalls.

Remeny paints and draws. Her first published works were greeting cards back in 1982.

For Remeny, art is a family affair. She started out painting with watercolor as a child, under the tutelage of her maternal grandmother, then her mother, and had a succession of art teachers throughout her school years.

“There are quite a few artists in my family including my late mother and many cousins. Among my biggest influences are my late father and my grandmother,” she says. “My grandmother, who was an artist and attended Pratt Institute [in New York] in her youth, was my first motivator.”

“Palm Fronds on the Bay.” (Photo courtesy of Lisa Remeny)

Remeny says she “draws on location, mostly blind contour-based, sometimes adding watercolor.” Her work is colorful and filled with sunlight; the lush vegetation she paints pops out of the frame.

She returned to Florida in 1991, settling in Coconut Grove, considered an art community, where she continued honing her craft.

Asked about her drawing and painting style, the artist says she identifies most with realism, both modern and classic.

“I keep up with the artists I admire, but I’m not really following a trend, per se,” she explains.

Among her influences are René Magritte, Paul Gauguin, Luis Buñuel, American Man Ray, Colin Garland, an Australian Surrealist artist, Judy Ann MacMillan and Julio Larraz.

Today, Remeny’s paintings can be found in different venues. Earlier this year, her art was on display at an exhibition about the history of Coconut Grove at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. She is currently exhibiting works at Florida International University’s Steven and Dorothea Green Library, along with Jamaican artist Jacqueline Gopie, who lives in Coral Gables. Titled “Color Our World,” the exhibition is on view through the end of this week.

“I am moved to re-create beautiful things; drawn to the light, to look for the magic,” Remeny says in a statement. “My intention is to promote an aura of peace, happiness and well-being.”

“Color Our World,” by Lisa Remeny and Jacqueline Gopie, is on view through Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, at Florida International University’s Steven and Dorothea Green Library, 11200 SW Eighth St., Miami. For more information, visit specialcollections.fiu.edu/color-our-world. View her works at Specialcollections.fiu.edu/lisa-remeny and Lisaremeny.com.

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