Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth Scotch.
Ruth, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Like most artists, I began drawing and painting at a young age. I recently was going through family photographs and found a picture of me painting at my father’s easel with his oil paints. The date on the photo says I was two at the time. So much for keeping toxic substances away from toddlers! While my father was not a “professional artist” (he was an academic in the social sciences and public health), he continued to take art classes and create artwork in varied media throughout his life and encouraged me to explore my artistic side alongside him. Although my focus in high school was studio art, I ended up attending the University of MI in Ann Arbor and majoring in art history. After graduating and working at an art gallery for a year, it was my father who convinced me to go back to school to get my BFA and MFA at Boston University, so I could focus on my own work rather than representing someone else’s. For more than fifteen years, painting was my fulltime day job, while I waitressed at night to support myself. While I loved being in the service industry and working with other kindred spirits (artists, writers, musicians), I soon fell into teaching and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and how much it informed my own work. I taught at the Danforth Museum for ten years, Monserrat College (a wonderful art school, but a long commute from Natick) for one year and have been teaching at Framingham State University for the past four years, a job that I adore.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I have loved the ups and downs of my life as an artist. Before I started teaching, I did have concerns about how isolating working in my studio was and I questioned my not contributing enough as an individual to society, happily, teaching has helped resolve this issue. Any time I can show a student that they can do something that they thought was beyond their reach, I know I am making a difference. Art is such a great vehicle for helping students to navigate uncertainty and learn how to push through discomfort to find a solution to a problem.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I primarily paint oil on canvas. I am obsessed with color and finding the color and geometry of light and the patterns it creates. My subject matter changes from year to year, but the obsession stays the same whether I am painting outdoor markets and cafes, beach scenes, figures in interiors, or fish market fish. I often paint using palette knives as I like the clean color and sculptural qualities I can achieve in my work when I use them. While knives tend to have a bad rap (if you google knife painting, you will see many images of neon colored roosters and circus clowns, for example, paintings with very garish color for some reason), I love the effects that can be achieved while using them. I teach Knife Painting classes and my students are often amazed by how quickly their color knowledge improves when using the knife.
What were you like growing up?
While I always loved art and music, I have been a contrarian to my own detriment. When everyone in high school assumed I would study art or music in college, I purposefully followed a different path, getting a liberal arts degree instead. When my mother suggested I teach art, I went in another direction. Each time, I somehow got back to the place I needed to be, in spite of myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ruthscotch.com
- Email: ruthscotch@gmail.com
- Facebook: ruthscotch artist/art educator
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