Like the man himself, the art of Renato Moncini is a sometimes surprising reflection of the places he has been and the experiences he has known.

Born and raised in Pisa, Italy, Renato studied at various fine art and technical schools in the region, including the acclaimed Leonardo da Vinci Institute, before embarking on a journeyman’s career as a sign painter, toolmaker and welder.  That ended in 1954 when he joined the Italian Air Force for a six-year tour of duty as a flight engineer and tactical illustrator. 

In 1958 he was selected to receive a year of training at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.  This was the beginning of his lifelong love affair with the U.S.  There he met and married an American girl, Faye Stewart.  After completing his service in Italy in 1960, he returned to the U.S. and joined NASA at the Marshall Space Center as a technical illustrator.

During his 14-year career there, he worked closely with the Apollo Space Program, producing thousands of full-color illustrations of the achievements that culminated with the U.S. putting a man on the moon.  His airbrush works and acrylic renderings were used extensively to promote the program.  They appeared in Congressional budgetary presentations; they were used by the press and television to inform the American public about the Apollo program; and they also were displayed on NASA-sponsored calendars, posters and commemorative publications issued after each flight.

 His art also helped the astronauts and scientists involved in the program better understand the functioning of the various components of the spacecraft being developed and used.  When a solar panel flew off Skylab 1, the astronauts relied on Renato’s renderings depicting the installation of a reflective apron to help them salvage the mission and prevent the spacecraft from overheating.  For his contribution to the repair and recovery of this Skylab mission, Renato was one of 45 Marshall Center employees flown to the Kennedy Space Center to witness the launch of Skylab 3.

Another of his singular accomplishments involved the ill-fated Apollo 13 moon flight.  Using only the descriptions of crewmembers on this space launch, Renato illustrated the return of the astronauts using the lunar excursion module after a malfunction occurred prior to the scheduled moon landing.  This included the jettisoning into space of the lunar module and service vehicle and the reentry of the capsule.

During these years Renato’s work also began receiving recognition at various exhibits and shows.  These honors include such citations as Illustrator of the Month by the Association of Technical Artists and Best-of-Show Award at the 15th Annual International Technical Communications Conference in Los Angeles.  His works have appeared in Life and numerous other magazines, as well as in several books dealing with America’s space program.  Some of his paintings are also on permanent display at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Since he joined Daniel and moved to Greenville, SC, Renato has found more time to explore another aspect of his art.  His studies with John Pike and his fascination with Andrew Wyeth’s artistry have exerted a major influence on his numerous watercolor landscapes of South Carolina’s coastal scenes.  His concern with depicting just the right combination of light and color, so evident in his technical illustrations, is a major feature of his landscapes as well, particularly the changing patterns of light and shadow during seasonal transitions.

The medium he works in changes with his subjects and interests.  Although he has worked extensively in acrylics and oils, Renato prefers the speed, immediacy and challenge of watercolors: “I like to see results fast - I suppose that’s impatience - and watercolors give me this fast result.”  But he does admit that the contemporary look and vivid colors of acrylics or the painstaking methods of airbrush illustrations are best suited to his many technological subjects.

Few artists move in such wide-ranging spheres, but each painting receives the same dedication.  From the outermost reaches of the heavens to McClellanville, SC, his favorite setting situated between Georgetown and Charleston, Renato is an artist committed to capturing the essence of his subject matter.