Welcome! Be sure to follow along — I’ll be sharing the timelapse video, the finished painting and the story behind it.
This original 3’ × 4’ painting is being created live Monday, July 20th 6:30-8:30pm during The Nadas performance at RAGBRAI 2026 in Guthrie Center, Iowa.
🎨 You’re seeing this piece before it’s finished.
The original will come to life live on stage in Guthrie Center Monday night July 20th 6:30 – 8:30pm and you’re signed 11″ x 14″ print will feature the completed artwork.
Take a piece of the story home. Pre-order a signed 11” × 14” fine art paper print today. Prints will be shipped.
Each print is personally hand-signed by artist Renae Zanella, professionally scanned and printed on archival-quality paper here in Iowa, and then shipped directly to your home after the live painting is complete.
Every live painting unfolds organically in response to the music, the people, and the moment. Sometimes I begin with a plan, and sometimes I simply begin and allow the painting to reveal itself as I go. For me, live painting is more than creating a finished piece, it can become an act of worship, an experience, and an encounter shared with everyone in the room. No two paintings and no two moments—are ever the same.
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What Happens Next?
✔️ Pre-Order your print today at the link above…just hit the pink button.
✔️ Once the painting is complete, this page will be updated with a photo of the finished artwork.
✔️ Your hand-signed print will be professionally produced, carefully packaged, and shipped directly to your home. Please allow 2-4 weeks for print to arrive.
Thank you for supporting local live art and independent artists.
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About the Artist
Hey, I’m Renae Zanella, an Iowa Native. I’m a faith-led artist, author, coach, and entrepreneur who believes God wastes nothing. Through live painting, storytelling, and my upcoming memoir, I hope to encourage others that Something Good Can Come Out of This.
God used art to help save my life. After years of addiction, only by the grace of God, I haven’t had a drink since Oct 8, 2018. Today, every painting is an expression of hope, healing, resilience and the faithfulness of God.
RAGBRAI has been part of my story for as long as I can remember. As a little girl, I remember saying goodbye to my parents as they headed off on RAGBRAI each summer. My mom and dad loved the ride, and eventually my two older brothers got to ride with them. Every year our family came up with fun team names and handmade T-shirts. One year they were Team Thor with “Thor Butt,” “Thor Hands,” and “Thor Feet”. Another year they were Team Tired, complete with a tire track rolled across the shirts. Years later, I was finally old enough to ride parts of the route myself. I never imagined I’d one day be standing on a RAGBRAI stage, telling a story through paint.
Today, I’m painting in my mom’s 1988 RAGBRAI T-shirt. She departed for heaven recently, so wearing it feels like bringing a piece of her with me. The artwork on the shirt was created by iconic Iowa artist Carolyn Blattel-Britton, whose work my mom collected over the years. Knowing that Carolyn, has also since passed away makes today feel even more meaningful—a quiet reminder of the legacy loved ones and artists leave behind.
When my husband and I moved to Guthrie Center in 2019, we had no idea how deeply this area would shape our lives. A few months after moving, right down the hill from our house we came across an RV pulled over with a few guys in bicycle shorts installing a small airplane on a fence post to honor family and friends lost in a nearby plane crash. My own brother, Eric, had died in a plane crash years earlier—and he loved RAGBRAI. That moment stopped me in my tracks and became the beginning of a story God is still writing.
That’s why painting here means so much to me. It isn’t just another event. It’s another reminder that God has a way of weaving together people, places, loss, healing, and hope in ways we could never plan.
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to explore the stories behind the art. Link down below. Thanks for stopping by.
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The Airplane on the Fence Post
A story of unexpected connections, grief, hope, and how something beautiful can grow from life’s hardest moments.
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Thank you for stopping by and sharing this moment with me.
If this painting speaks to you, pre-order your print now. Each print will be signed by artist Renae Zanella.
If you’d like to learn more about the story behind this painting, The Airplane on the Fence Post, or my upcoming memoir, Something Good Can Come Out of This, you’ll find those stories throughout this website.
I’m grateful you’re here.
