(First published in the HNUK newsletter, November
1997)
I would like to thank you
Renate, so very much for this interview. You're more than welcome, Gwen.
The breathtaking art you so
lovingly lavish on the fans of the cult TV series Beauty and
the Beast, makes us the envy of other fandoms. Thank you.
The fans are always keen to know
if your art will be in certain Beauty and the Beast fanzines
and because of this, they ask me endless questions about
you. This interview should fill in the gaps, where their
questions now lie waiting for answers. Sure, so what do you want to know?
Where you were born, your
family, when you first started drawing, etc.
etc... I was born on May 8th, 1951, in South Tyrol, the
provincial capital is Bozen; the German South Tyrol has been
a part of Italy since 1919. I'm an only child.
Are you married,
Renate? Yes I am, my husband is called Hartmann and we have been
married over 25 years, it was our Silver Wedding last
year.
Any children? Yes, we have a lovely daughter, Beatrix, she is a school
teacher, teaching mathematics, which she loves so
much.
In what part of the South Tyrol
do you live? A place called St.Pauls/Eppan. Our country is very
mountainous, with very rich forests, intensively cultivated
from the vineyards and apple plantations in the valleys to
the highest mountain formsteads. It is quite near to Austria
and Switzerland.
Austria ... that's where another
wonderful Beauty and the Beast artist lives, Rosemarie
Hauer! Yes, I met Rosemarie for the first time in 1991, at a
Beauty and the Beast gathering of the 'Tunnel Community' in
Germany.
When did you first start
drawing? Oh! I've always loved drawing, since childhood, it was
always important to me. I didn't draw much until Beauty and
the Beast entered my life. I did not go to an art school
like you did Gwen, but I did attend a couple of drawing and
painting courses, but it was pretty boring really. So I
changed courses, dropping landscapes for nude and portrait,
this I loved very much. But only when I saw Vincent and
Catherine that it sparked off in me a need to draw them, it
was like an inner voice telling me. I listened and the joy
and fulfilment it gives me, I never thought
possible.
Have you ever been to
England? No, sadly I haven't and I've never attended a British or
USA convention, just the German ones. Rosemarie and I meet
up once a year, to share the love we feel for Beauty and the
Beast since 1989. It is a deep love we share for this
special show.
Do you have a special favourite
episode? Yes, but it's hard to say which one I like best, apart
from the usual ones that most fans love. A Happy Life,
Orphans, I also like Brothers.
Have you ever met any of the
cast? Yes, I met Roy Dotrice, David Greenlee and Jo Anderson
here in the German Gathering.
Do you draw other
subjects? I do portraits, caricatures, wine bottle labels, all on
request, but Vincent and Catherine have captured my heart
for ever.
Thank goodness, Renate, as your
art in the fanzines and calendars, keep alive our fantasy
and our dreams. Thank you, Gwen.
