Mary Rae Rush

BIO
I was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. I currently live in Camp Verde, Arizona.

I feel moved by color. I have always loved the work of Kandinsky, Joan Miro, Gaugin, Matisse, Helen Frankenthaler, and Georgia O’Keefe, just to name a few. I like the way they use color. Kandinsky’s idea of the spiritual in art and his ideas on color and music intrigued me in the beginning of my art making.

Since moving to the Southwest in 2006, the landscape inspires me with its expansive nature. The full monsoon clouds with the drama at sunset thrills me to no end. The varying landscape here in Arizona captures a certain energetic quality that makes its way into my paintings.

I have recently switched back to oil paints. I switched because I was using acrylic for years and then suddenly became aware that they are petroleum based. I care for the environment and want to do my small part to protect it. The thought of more oil pipelines being built across our beautiful land saddens me.

Because of my love for the land, the landscape is the subject of the majority of my paintings. I take side trips into the abstract, which I adore. I keep trying my hand at painting abstract. I think my landscape paintings are headed in that direction. I...

May 2012. Western New Mexico University. Silver City, New Mexico A.A. Graphic Design.

2000-2005. Manchester Community College. Manchester, Connecticut. A.F.A. Program. Transferred to Western New Mexico University due to relocation.

I've participated in juried shows since 1994 from Connecticut to New Mexico to Arizona. I have had several one-person exhibitions in New Mexico and Arizona from 2007 through 2012. I was involved in two-person exhibitions from 2005-2009 in New Mexico and New York. I have been juried into many exhibitions from 1994 to 2012 in Connecticut and New Mexico.