Renee Waldman Brettler was born in 1956 in Sudbury, Ontario, where she lived for two years before moving to Toronto. Her passion for art began with the discovery of colouring books and crayons. Not content to merely colour the pictures, she would, instead, redraw them on a separate piece of paper. Discovering her ability to capture the likeness of an image was the beginning of a lifelong fascination with art.

In 1981 while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Toronto, Renee enjoyed her first successful solo art exhibit at the Del Bello Gallery. Her future seemed promising, however, a failing marriage would compel her to choose between ‘the path of her heart’ and ‘the path of her head’. Ultimately, she opted for economic stability rather than the uncertainty of life as a struggling artist. To that end, she completed a Bachelor of Education and an Ontario Teaching Certificate.

Renee remarried, had 3 children, and a successful teaching career that spanned some 30 years. As a Visual Arts Specialist, she always found creative ways to integrate the Arts into her classroom and school environment.

Since retiring from teaching in 2014, Renee is finally able to turn her attention once more to her first love: Art!
Renee is self-taught and has worked with acrylic, oil paint, graphite, charcoal, coloured pencils and pastels.