I remember lying on the living room floor on a rainy afternoon with my grandmother's old tin full of crayons and my favorite worn out coloring book- the one with tattered edges and pages falling out. I'd turn the pages until I found an uncolored picture, then try to pick the perfect color for the dress, or the hat, or... whatever. I'd get lost in it sometimes... the lines, the colors, the rhythm of the crayon spreading its color over the page, turning it into something special, vibrant, and all the strokes inside the lines!

For Renae' Lindgren that's where it all began. Rainy days and coloring books. there was magic in it for her. Bringing light and life to the black and white outlines. Later, she'd watch her grandfather, also an artist, as he painted, making beautiful pictures without even having to follow any lines! And, oh, the colors and patterns and shapes that moved across the canvas following his dancing brush! It was a magic wand that made whole worlds appear out of nothing. She was entranced by it. A little girl watching and wondering and wishing that someday she could do the kinds of things her grandfather could do.

Today she still giggles when a butterfly or a flower emerges, like a magic spell, from the tip of her paintbrush or colored pencil. Although she's all grown up now, she still likes to play with crayons or colored pencils. She loves to paint walls - and gets away with it- as she happily goes about adding more color into the world. For her, it's never work, but always an adventure. She loves the challenge of a blank page; the challenge of creating!

Across thee street from their small town park, Renae and her husband, Ben, are busy raising their five children in a house called the "Olive's Nest" - named after Ben's Grandmother Olive, who lived there. Renae juggles the responsibilities of family, church and community and somehow still finds time every day to sneak off to her little drawing room to immerse herself in her art.

There amid scattered pages of sketches, with pencil in hand and her imagination overflowing, she steps back in time to find that little girl who still has a sense of wonder of the way color can change an ordinary piece of paper into a magical kingdom where anything can happen.