Ruttsy
Music is critical to what I do. Finding something in a lyric or a melody helps shape and influence how an artwork takes shape.
I started painting in my mid 40’s. A white collar financial services executive with teenage children, a hectic work life, weekends full of kids sport, dinner parties, red wine and hangovers. To answer a challenge. Prove a point. Do something different. Find a creative side.
There was also a semi-serious side. Self-actualization, doing something right brain creative, finding some work-life balance, showing my kids there are various facets to being a well-rounded male. All those kinds of thoughts were also in the mix. But it was mainly about proving a point!
My early efforts were ordinary, which was to be expected really with little formal training. But as I taught myself how to mix and match colour, how to achieve texture, how to replicate what I had seen elsewhere, the results gradually improved. Encouragement from family was important, and friends were pleasantly surprised as they hadn’t seen that side of me. It felt good to be different. Several years later, I’ve now found my groove in terms of method, in terms of aesthetic and in terms of colour.
I’m still learning and expanding my boundaries and creating Art Inspired by Music at www.ruttsy.com.au