Billy Renkl grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and earned his undergraduate degree in illustration from Auburn University. His M.F.A., from the University of South Carolina, is in drawing. Today he teaches illustration, collage, and drawing as a professor of art at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He and his wife have three adult children, two grandchildren, and a weedy garden that puzzles their neighbors.
Whether as an illustrator or as a fine artist preparing for gallery exhibitions, Billy often begins his work in response to the written word. Most recently he has worked in frequent collaboration with his sister, Margaret Renkl. His artworks accompany the essays in two of her books: The Comfort of Crows (Spiegel & Grau, 2023) and Late Migrations (Milkweed Editions, 2019). His first children’s book was When You Breathe by Diana Farid (Cameron Kids, 2020). The Weedy Garden is his first picture book with Margaret.
Billy works in mixed media, with a focus on incorporating vintage collage elements. Such sources include timeworn natural history books and maps, vintage ephemera, antique packaging, sheet music, and postcards. When a needed collage element cannot be found in his studio, which is packed with paper, he makes it himself—sometimes by painting or drawing, often by creating cyanotypes.
Billy’s work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions, including solo shows in New York, Nashville, Birmingham, and New Orleans. He is represented by the David Lusk Gallery in Nashville and Memphis.
“The “slender green snake” in a “glimmering world” paints as vivid a picture as the splashy multimedia collaged art provided by Billy Renkl, the author’s brother. Bursting with primary colors, his deeply layered floral extravaganza pops. Varied perspectives immerse readers in the hubbub while keeping the focus on the naturalistic animals. An author’s note extends the introductory information—that robin really does hear a worm underground!” — Kirkus Reviews (starred)
