Alabama native Rushton Waltchack uses alcohol inks in her abstract flower paintings and butterfly collages.
Artist: Waltchack was born and grew up in Birmingham. She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in mass communications and spent a year in China before returning home.
Company/studio: Rushton Art is based in Birmingham. The self-taught artist, who has been selling her work since 2019, turned her husband’s home office into her studio.
In the beginning: Waltchack comes from a long line of women artists going back to her great, great, great, great grandmother. Her mom and sister are artists as well.
But it took her years of being a full-time mom to six children (three biological and three from China) and experimentation to find her “art voice.”
Late one night in 2018, she discovered alcohol inks on YouTube. She bought some the next day.
Art & materials: Abstract paintings and mixed media works, using alcohol ink and some acrylics, on a variety of surfaces, including canvas, gesso board and YUPO paper. Flower and nature themes are prominent.
What’s popular:
- Giant flowers, 24 inches by 36 inches and up, ($2,500 to $4,000).
- Butterfly collages ($325 to $2,000) in acrylic box frames made by Wexel Art.
- Flowers on paper in oversized mats, 16 inches by 20 inches and ready to frame. ($195).
Favorite tool: Airbrush. There is no ink in the airbrush, which she uses to move the inks on a variety of surfaces.
Fun or special commissions:
- A butterfly collage based on colors in a fabric. The colors weren’t ones the artist normally gravitates toward.
- Was sent pictures of a wedding invitation and the wedding bouquet and asked to create a gift. She did: a 9-inch-by-12-inch painting that was then matted and framed.
Recent honor: Being admitted to The Scouted Studio Emerging Artist show after trying for three years. The Scouted Studio (thescoutedstudio.com) is a Charleston-based art gallery.
Recent projects: “Blueprint for Life,” a painting of a silhouetted garden with one vibrant flower. There are three finished paintings in the series and several small ones in the works.
The messy garden is symbolic of the chaos of life, said Waltchack, who describes her art as therapy. The flower is flourishing in stark contrast to the rest of the world.
What’s next: Spotlight on Art, (trinityatl.org), The Trinity School, Atlanta. Jan. 29-Feb. 3.
Buy:
- DM the artist at Instagram: @Rushton_Art.
- Tricia’s Treasures, Homewood, AL.
- The Gallery by Andiamo Lodge, Mentone, AL.
Social:
- Instagram: @Rushton_Art
