Renée Locks

June 14, 1933 - March 10, 2023

Resident of Mill Valley

Originals are hard to find, but easy to recognize. Renée Locks was a true original. An unstoppable creative force who lived life on her own terms. At 89, Renée peacefully passed away on March 10, 2023, in her Mill Valley home on the Hill, where she lived for more than half a century.

Renée Locks was a well-known and beloved San Francisco Bay multi-media artist whose beautifully calligraphed & inspirational words adorned hundreds of greeting cards and calendars. Internationally published and distributed by Brush Dance & Amber Lotus, these little “gems” have delighted people for decades. She devoted herself to the sumi-e brush and shodo – the way of writing beautifully. Locks was inspired by ancient Asian calligraphy, especially by the Japanese Kansai style of writing, which is executed rapidly and without lines. She described it as “like walking a tightrope between control and freedom, mind focused as a straight arrow, from top of head through the brush, no hesitation.” She painted on 300-year-old rice paper and ground her own ink with an ink stick and water on a special paper. Renée’s art “nourishes, heals, & blesses the mind, heart & spirit”

Artist, poet, author, calligrapher, gardener, mosaic designer, teacher, sign painter, Beatnik, Hippie, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt & sister. Renée is survived by her five children, twelve grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, three siblings and numerous nieces & nephews.

Renée Locks believed in giving back. She worked at local SF Bay women’s shelters for years. As per Renée’s request, no memorial service will be held. Donations in her memory can be made to centerfordomesticpeace.org. Forever in our hearts.

May her memory be a blessing.