ARTIST’S STATEMENT

“I never call myself an artist. I am a painter. I don’t wait for inspiration; I just do the work. There are so many things that can derail creativity. That’s why criticism or praise are equally dangerous, and why ultimately it’s useless. My only job is to continue to mature as an artist, learning how to paint freely and paint comfortably. But it will always be just one step at a time, a painting, like a construction; a chair for example. It needs to be comfortable; it needs to be functional and beautiful. But it is a built thing and if it’s done well it will stand up. Paintings I think are the same, they have to build one step at a time and they have to be true in order to last.”

PROFILE

Andres Rushing was born in Virginia in 1960. At an early age his drawing showed promise (catching the praise and encouragement of his parents and a family friend who gifted him with materials and advice.) By fourteen he was painting in acrylics, and in both execution and subject matter his work was considerably more sophisticated than his years. Yet by his own choice Rushing left college, and painting, for a stint in the Navy and after that for a short stay in the defense industry. It was that detour that broadened Rushing’s perspective and provided a great catalyst for change: he learned, traveled, let the world educate him, and then finally came to understand that painting was his future.

Rushing returned to creative work, studied at the Academy of Art in San Francisco then began painting and sculpting fulltime. He has had several one-man shows, been in numerous juried and invitational exhibitions and is represented by many galleries.

His is distinctly a European sensibility, driven by a profound interest in the human condition and by insights humanity displays in response to that condition. At it’s lightest Rushing’s work suggests Magritte, showing life in an amused juxtaposition; at it’s most intense Dali or Rousseau, where man and image confront each other in unnerving contrast. His fine portraits are reminiscent of the great portrait painters of old, Sargent, Johnson, Chase, and Reynolds.