About the Artist

My paintings attempt to communicate a mood, the sense of being in a particular place at a given moment.  For me, this often involves encounters with wild and domestic animals in the western environment.  The combination of beautiful animals, a diverse and often austere setting and the infinite variety of light never fail to inspire me.  These are the images I try to convey in my work. 

How I got into this...

Photography

I have been a serious amateur photographer since I bought my first camera, a Minolta 101-SLR with upgraded 55mm lens, with babysitting money back in 10th grade. A few years ago I made the transition to a digital camera, and it does have certain advantages (but I still have my Minolta at the ready). 

Painting

In 2010 a wonderful artist friend of mine suggested I enroll in her painting class. I did, and got hooked on oils. Most of my images on this site are of cats, primarily because when I started painting they are always around and handy if I need to review anatomy. I started painting antelope when I moved to Wyoming in 2012 for the same reason: 'goats' as we call then, are everywhere--drifting through our yard, posing along side the roads, and watching us as we watch them while we hike.

I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoy creating them. I have a full-time position as an historian of the American West at the University of Wyoming, so only paint when I have time. Look for more postings during summer break!

Books by Renee M. Laegreid

Women on the North American Plains, co-edited with Sandra Mathews (Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2011)

Riding Pretty: Rodeo Royalty in the American West (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2006)