Obama! Painting

I'm an oil painter and mixed media artist, now based in New York City and born in South Africa. Each of my paintings is an exploration in which unplanned dream worlds emerge as I paint. I often start by creating an abstract painting of an imaginary forbidding environment – a swirling ocean, a looming forest, or a dark cave. Then I explore the dark space by removing bits of paint (with rags drenched in oil and turpentine) to find the lights – to discover the glen in the forest, the islands in the ocean, or life in the cave. After I uncover stories in the lights and darks, I populate these imaginary worlds with little embellishments – flora, fauna, people and festivities – magical civilizations that were there, waiting to be discovered. My mixed media works create three-dimensional surreal environments from foils, found objects, recycled plastics and other materials. I also work with gold leaf, encaustics, animation, book arts, and collage. As a supplement to creating my own art, I've worked on several projects with the low-income children in New York City, using art to teach and build community. I made a mosaic for the Lower East Side Girls Club, and I was the art director of Lower East Side Bike Parade where I ran workshops, teaching kids how to decorate their bicycles. Since 1999, I've run the art program at Avenues for Justice, an alternative to prison program for juvenile offenders. (See more paintings and mixed media pieces at: cindyruskin.com)