'Black Dahlia' Painting

Ronnie Beets was born in Fortaleza, Brazil and adopted as an infant by a family in east Tennessee. His upbringing was traditional and Southern Baptist. Modern art and culture were never big topics in his household. Still, Ronnie loved drawing and always felt compelled to create. His paintings exude the undeniable influences of Cubist and Abstract masters like Picasso and Chagall while remaining fresh and original. A high school art teacher prompted Beets to pick up a brush for the first time. Even though Ronnie informed his teacher that he was not a painter, she informed him that his next assignment was to be a painting. He completed the piece, a female mannequin torso, tea kettle, and a bundle of flowers in brilliant yellows and blues defined by bold black outlines. In this process, Ronnie's signature style began to develop. After high school, Ronnie went on to college to study art education and he quickly realized that he had no desire to teach. After that, he left college and set out on the noble path of the "˜starving artist' with that original brightly painted woman at his side. She remains with him to this day. Though his portraits are rarely painted from life, they are often cumulative representations of actual people. Ronnie considers his paintings portrayals of emotions and archetypes; love, fear, sex, faith and death are all given a face and persona. He strives for a pleasing aesthetic, but more so to ignite an interaction and a spark of recognition between the viewer and subject.