July Art Installation - Mary Reusch

 Sculptural Paintings of Fungi

From my walks in the woods, I find so many beautiful fungi, mushrooms and lichen, that I just had to paint them- and then felt that the best way to paint them was to do it in a way that gives the feeling of seeing them in 3 dimensions.  I used cigar boxes, and I painted on them so that the landscape is joined and extended.  

Forest Decomposition Set, oil on Cigar boxes, 9"x20"x1"

Fungi, Trees & Forest Floor, oil on Cigar Box, 20"x10"x1"

Lichen and Moss on Pine and Oak, oil on cigar box, 9"x20"x1"

Fungi Box with Stems, oil on wooden box, 5x6x4"

Nose to Nose, oil on panel, 3.5"x4.5"

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Blue Mushroom, oil on box, 4"x6"

Sweet Pipes, oil on box, 5"x6"

Long Legs, oil on box, 3"x2"

Umbrellas, oil on box, 3"x2"

Fungi Growing on Trees, oil on Box, 5"x6"x4"

Coral Spiral, oil on box, 3.5"x4.5"

Double Mushroom, oil on box, 4"x6"

Twisted Mushroom, oil on box, 5"x6"

Colorful Stripes on Twig, oil on box, 3"x2"

Candy Stripes, oil on box, 3"x2" 

Fungi Against Cloudy Sky, watercolor on paper, 7"x5"

 A Walk in the Woods

Here is a painting that has nine different components to it. Imagine walking in the woods, looking up, then looking across, and then down.  When you are aware of it,  you see fungi and mushrooms on the trees and at your feet.  I have been thinking of the forest and the amazing work that fungi does for the trees, and how magical and beautiful they are.  These images are painted on nine separate handmade boxes that are a set.

Forest Walk, oil on linen on boxes, 24"x24"x6"

Revealed and to the Right, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

Striped and Straight Up, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

Home for Woodpeckers, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

Full of Lichen, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

Mossy Birch, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

Bark Like a Shield, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

Mushroom Fungi, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

Leaves and Chanterelle, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

Turkey Tail Mushrooms, oil on linen, 8"x8"x6"

 Portraits

The human figure, is the ultimate subject for an artist.  I have had the joy of doing commissions, as well as following up on ideas that have interested me.  Geometric Girl is what I think of as a painting sculpture as it is viewed from multiple angles.

Superior Couple by Lake Superior, oil on linen, oil on linen, 24"x30"

Madonna & Child with Symbols, oil on linen, 20"x16"

Geometric Girl, oil on linen, 7"x8"x8"

Geometric Girl looking Down, oil on linen, 8"x8"

Geometric Girl From the back, oil on linen, 7"x8"

Geometric Girl from the Front, oil on linen, 7"x8"

Geometric Girl Left Side, oil on linen, 7"x8"

Geometric Girl Right Side, oil on linen, 7"x8"

Water as Metaphor

Water has become very symbolic to me, I see excitement in rushing water, meditation in stillness of water, the life that lives in water, and much in-between.  I love the ideas that it creates!

Three animals in Tide-pools, 24"x18", oil on linen

California Tide Pool Animals, oil on linen, 18"x24"

Creek and Rocks, oil on linen, 18"x24"

Leaves Descending to Creek Bottom, oil on linen, 18"x24"

Rocks and Sky in the Creek, oil on linen, 18"x24"

Light Pink Lillies & Green Lily Pads, oil on linen, 12"x36"

Colored Lily Pads & Frog, oil on linen, 12"x36"

Sunlit Creek Bottom & Fall Leaves, oil on linen, 40"x40"

Experiments with Copper Surfaces

In these paintings I have been playful, using oil, patinas, foils, etching and other techniques while working with the copper surface to find interesting colors and glow beneath it all.

Abode (Bonnard's Bath), Copper on Panel, 2 1/2"x4"

A place Far from Here, mixed media, 5"x7"

Night of the Deep Blue Sea, mixed media, 9"x7"

Cloud&Estuary, mixed Media, 4"x3"

Lily Pads in Late Fall, oil on copper, 12"x12"

Pine Tree in Front Yard, oil on copper, 10"x8"

Lily Pads Aged & Frayed, oil on copper,  6"x8"

Montana Mountain, oil on copper, 4"x6"

Lily Pads Tied together, Oil on copper, 12"x12"

Birch in Moonlight, oil on copper, 5"x4"

Three Red Trees on Back Hill, oil on copper, 5"x10"

Moon Bursting Through Clouds, oil on copper, 4"x6"

Single Golden Leaf, oil on copper, 4"x6"

London Tower Wall and Tree, oil on copper, 12"x9"