Rita Fennegan
I was born in Illinois, where I grew up on a farm. I was always creative, making things and later painting scenes. The landscape of the Midwest farmland is very flat. On the distant horizon I could see the small shapes of the buildings of the neighboring farms.The beauty of the Midwestern sky has always inspired me. The geometric shapes of farm buildings: the squares, rectangles cylinders, and triangular shapes juxtaposed against the sky with the regulated nature of the crops have always influenced the way I view the world around me. vision.
When I went to College I supposed that I would become an Art teacher However, I decided on concentrating on fine art when I saw a painting by the late Harold Gregor. He has been dubbed as the founder of the so called "Prairie School. His paintings featured the type of things: corn cribs, bean fields, hedge rows, the vast flat landscape of crop lines receding into the distance. with the big sky of Illinois as a backdrop. These were the ordinary scenes that I grew up with. His art inspired me to pursue an art career. I finished my B.F.A. degree in 1979 in collaboration with the Brooklyn Museum Art School on a Max Beckman Scholarship. After that, I decided to stay on in Brooklyn. My future husband and I moved into a former factory in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, where we could live and have an art studios too. My husband renovated the space and we both joined the ranks of the many artist/waiters of N.Y.C. However, I was still able to produce my art and participate in art shows. In Brooklyn, walking here and there, I noticed that the sky interacts with the buildings, water towers, and church spires in a similar to to my memories of Illinois, and that became a theme in my artwork; the juxtaposition of the the After many years of waitressing and working in Isolation for the most part, I realized that I needed the feedback of other artists in order to grow as an artist. So, I enrolled in Brooklyn College CUNY. While there, I studied with renowned artist Lois Dodd and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Directly after graduating, upon the advise of another graduate student, I became a substitute teacher and I took classes in Education to earn a teaching license. Shortly after that. I got a job teaching in the public High Schools of Brooklyn N.Y.C. I taught High School Art in public schools of Brooklyn for more than 20 years, first as a substitute and then as an appointed teacher.
During all those years, I kept producing art and I also grew as an artist by teaching it. I was able to continue showing my art in various galleries. Now that I'm retired I'm going to dedicate the rest of my life producing and showing my art.