Chelsea was exposed to the art of Gyotaku in elementary school. Once she began creating and painting, an art teacher, who displayed Chelsea’s work in the art gallery of her school, soon discovered her.  Her mother fueled Chelsea's love of Art with unlimited supplies to create. Early acknowledgement of artistic capabilities encouraged her to continue painting.  Her love of the ocean came from an organic setting in her home life.  Her father, a valued fisherman, taught her how to tie knots and cast-net bait as a young child.  As she got older, he would take her on expeditions with more responsibility: she would learn the glossy-finish of a dolphin’s dorsal fin, the dangers of a rustling Black Tip shark in the flats, and how to interpret fluxes on the surface of the wild ocean.  During those esteemed moments, she became captivated by the charm of marine life and learned to turn her free time into a time for learning about the animals that inhabit the waters. Her parents were not the only ones with this passion for the Ocean. Her Grandfather Donn Renn was the head of the undersea research at Miami Sea Aquarium and an under water photographer/cinematographer and a pioneer in the industry. Chelsea was made to paint sea life.  

After living on Key Biscayne for most of her young life, she left to finish high school and onto college in Wellington, Florida.  She hadn’t considered entering the art world as a working creative, for she had the pressures of corporate America impending upon her.  Her focus became unapparent. She lost interest in her paintings, abandoned interaction with the oceanic ecosystem, and lost touch with herself. Time went on yet, she was confused as to which path she might take.  She began with advertising and fashion. But, with an office job... she felt misplaced.  Feeling as though she were satisfying the venerable role accepted by American standards, she continued to be commissioned through its hierarchical scale.  It wasn’t until the loss of her father, that she realized just how preoccupied she had been. The Ocean seemed to call for her.

The challenge of this affliction led her into a state of numbness, which forced her to revisit an outlet that once brought her much gaiety.  Attempting to bind together her father’s intriguing spirit of adventure, the healing powers of the ocean, and the love of Arts and independence from her Mother. Chelsea moved to Marsh Harbor, Bahamas.  It was there that she decided to take the calculated risks associated with her career as a painter and became a maverick of a post-grad society.  At this point, she was able to experience the enchantment of the ocean once again, and produce a paradigm for the missing inner peace she had lost in the rat-race.  It wasn’t until this point that she gained a sense of fulfillment in her life and has welcomed great success into a somewhat unpredictable lifestyle.

Chelsea hopes to deliver the patience the ocean offers, to those who use it in order to assist in the unwinding of the mind.  For those looking for a break from the monotony of looming deadlines and daily chores, her paintings embody the force of nature that allows those thoughts to dissemble in the harmonious settingthey create. Because she resides in the islands, she is able to capture the essence of escapism very easily on canvas and transport it into a variety of settings