Renner finished one semester in art school in Los Angeles while supporting himself by driving a cab. After that semester, he dropped out and returned to Ocean Beach in San Diego. From that day forth, he continued to pursue his drawings and sculptures full-time. He struck up a friendship with a local artist named Bill Kelly, who along with other friends, was very supportive.
Because his wife Karen is the main breadwinner in the family, as a teacher in the public school system, Renner has been able to pursue his work constantly. He spends 12 hours a day in the studio and is very productive.
Currently he lives and works in a tiny bungalow. His studio is hiddden behind a wall of bookshelves in the bedroom. When one enters the studio, it is like entering a monk's cell. It is simply a concrete room six by five feet, with a simple wooden desk, a hard wooden straight back chair and a light. His drawings often include collage. These collaged pieces are frequently made from earlier drawings, which he fearlessly cuts up in order to include in his new work.
Renner tells us that his father worked in the tuna industry as a fisherman and that he was deeply affected by the gasping, flopping, dying fish on the deck and seeing the haunting look in their eyes. His father kept jars of fish specimens, that were also very haunting to him as a child. When asked about his past and influences Renner replied that his closest companions were snails and that he would never kill a snail. He started drawing in childhood and has never stopped.
