Renee Ortiz Has been painting off and on for nearly 50 years-- Lately, more on than off as she took up a challenge to complete one painting a day for a year. She studied at Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles, continued her education at Loyola Marymount University and promptly abandoned it all to work in the Reagan Administration. Back in California, she met and married her husband Patrick and raised and homeschooled her three children. Her art was placed on the low list of priorities for many years; however after sending her firstborn off to college, she got a startling glimpse at what an empty nest looked like- not to mention tuition costs - and dove back into the art world, never turning back. Right off the bat she received best of show for her her paintings in Sonoma County, began exhibiting in a local gallery in Windsor. a local winery in Hopland, and just completed her first solo exhibit at The Journey Center in Santa Rosa, CA. She currently leads a drop in art workshop and continues to paint each day.