Neighbors: Jean-Ren Goetze

The textured rocks represent a colorful array of hues: navy, light blue, green, tan, chocolate and charcoal.The pebbles lie in a natural, yet perfect, composition, taunting onlookers to pick one up and skip it — if only they could remove one from the canvas.

Two versions of the detailed and meticulous painting of enlarged rocks from the coast of Maine hang in the living room of self-taught painter Jean-René Goetze’s home.

“When you are known for a certain style, people come to expect it,” Goetze says of the pebbled pieces. He prefers his landscape work, though they aren’t as popular as the pebbles.

Inspired by the coasts on which he has lived, most of his seascapes come from Maine and France. They feature sunsets, rock structures jettisoning out of the sea, lighthouses and architecture.

“When you paint, you want to be in the proper mood to paint,” he says. That, and you also have to have the time to do so.

When Goetze paints, he has to have an uninterrupted four hours. It’s not only his preference, but the classical medium he uses is time sensitive because it involves raw egg. Egg tempera is made using egg yolk, pigment, water and acid. It is fast drying and cannot be stored after it is prepared.

It is a method that is difficult to blend, so the preferred method is layering on a precise drawing. It requires much patience. He will often paint with acrylic, because it is a much faster process.

“Egg is so time consuming that sometimes you want to (switch) mediums,” he says.

Goetze has always been interested in art, and if it weren’t for the long duration of French schooling and the market at the time he entered school, he would have studied architecture over business. He worked in the rubber industry for seven years, followed by the petroleum business until 2004 when he retired.

“When I retired I said, ‘I’m going to paint!’” Goetze says. He wanted to do it in a serious way and studied painting books and artists’ work, such as Botticelli.

In February, he hosted an exhibit of French sceneries at Alliance Française in Sarasota. His works were representative of the land and culture of France, where he was reared.

Goetze lived in Paris after moving from Africa at the age of 7. Though when he first moved to Paris as a child, he was sad because he was used to the sun and beaches and not the gray cold and damp winter. When he moved to sunny Longboat Key in 2010, he says, “It was like coming back to my childhood home in Africa, in a way.”

Though he’s been painting the past few years, he hasn’t had a chance to paint the Gulf due to spending time with his grandchildren and traveling.

“I have empty walls that could use a few paintings,” he says.

He just needs a little more time.