Frida forever II Print

As a child my paternal grandmother gave me a first serie of old family photos of my ancestors and previous generations. When she died, I received many other old family pictures. I have always found these photos very beautiful and they meant a lot to me. I kept them carefully in a box in the hope that one day I would put them under a frame and hang them together on a wall in my house. Around 2012 I was fully thinking about which subjects I wanted to cover in my paintings. I wanted to give more substance and depth to my canvases and paint a subject that was close to my emotions and heart. I lived in France for 12 years and experienced what it is like to live and work far away from friends and family. At the same time, an economic crisis started in France, which made me realize that life for past generations would have been much harder than we experienced at the time. I brought out my old family photos and started painting. ​ I always have been passionate about existence and our origins. Where do we come from? Why are we born under such heavens, in such a place and time rather than another? I still do not have to date, answers to these questions that come to my mind... I let myself be inspired by these old photos and try to trasmit in my paintings, the images of the generations that preceded us. This in order not to forget our roots, but also to keep a record of the existence of our ancestors for future generations. ​ Sabine Rusch ​ ​ICON PAINTINGS I often paint Icons. These icons have their place in my artwork because like the paintings inspired by old familypictures, the icons passionate me about their life and their existence. It is also a great way to excercise my self in the art of portrait. I’m searching how to make Icon painting interesting and how to find my own way in this kind of painting. JAPANESE PAINTINGS On my search for other old family photos, I found a beautiful little old family photo of a Geisha. This photo inspired me to make my first Japanese painting "The Geisha". It is a subject that I cannot get bored of, I am very attracted to the Japanese style and combine this with my own way of painting, which results in a very successful combination.