Raney has been a practitioner of the arts since she was a child. Before painting a wall in her house while growing up, her Mother would give her crayons and let her draw to her hearts content. In the first grade her teacher gave her a portion of the chalkboard to draw on when she completed her work. She helped to decorate her elementary school for special occasions. At the age of nine for the exhibition of an art class her self portrait was hung, and she was immediately recognized by viewers...mostly for her long pigtails. She went on to major in art education and taught K-5 for five years before committing to her art professionally when she was immediately taken on by a gallery rep and her reputation and art continued to grow and prosper. Raney has been represented by galleries on the east and west coasts as well as throughout the Carolinas and her award winning work is in collections in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. Nature is the main theme for much of Raney's art as she strongly believes that “All things are connected.” as Chief Seattle has so eloquently stated. Moving to her farm of thirty-three years in the NC mountains has afforded her the opportunity to see all kinds of creatures ambling through her property and many casting that acreage as home for nests, caves and lush forest growth. Bringing nature to the fore of people's view is emotional, educational and necessary if we are to know how to protect and preserve our wildlife as well as their habitat. To own a piece of Raney's work is to appreciate her gift of observation of nature and to pass along the knowledge that is the message of what she is portraying – from butterflies that light upon a flower petal to the mighty elephant disturbing the dust from its huge padded feet