Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca M. Fullerton.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Growing up I said I wanted to be an artist, without really knowing what that meant or if it was a viable career. I drew and painted throughout my childhood in Vermont and southern New Hampshire, but decided on an art history and studio art double major when I attended Hartwick College. That helped steer me into the museum field where I worked for my first few years out of school.
From there I stumbled into the archives field where I’ve worked as the sole archivist for the Appalachian Mountain Club, an outdoor recreation and conservation non-profit, for over thirteen years. My job is tied to the outdoors and the Northeast’s wild places. That has aligned perfectly with my artistic pursuits as a landscape painter. These days I live in Boston, but I spend a lot of time exploring the outdoors throughout our region. I love to hike, cross-country ski, run on trails, snowshoe and kayak, all of which feed back into my art and the subjects I choose to portray.
Please tell us about your art.
I work almost exclusively in watercolors and oil paints, both on very small scale paper pieces and on canvases up to four feet wide. The subject is usually New England mountain landscapes. A painting starts with a sketch or photo from the field. I hike into the woods, or up above mountain treeline. There I settle down on a rock or log with my sketchbook and a lightweight paint kit I can stuff in my backpack.
I might just be out for a day hike, but I make a point of taking a week-long solo hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire each year to get in some concentrated painting time as well. I take plenty of photos to use as references later along with notes about the weather, the light and colors that day. Occasionally I will go out with a small easel, wood panels, and a set of oil colors to sketch or even create a finished painting if things are going well. Most of my larger pieces are made in my studio based on these sketches and photos.
Every painting is a challenge to create something more beautiful and more true to the feeling of the subject than the last painting. It can be exhausting, but I can’t help chasing that perfect combination in each brush stroke, every application of color, the light, the textures – the whole picture that can suddenly snap into something transcendent. I want my paintings to be a place where the eye can rest but also explore. I like the sense that there is something new to see every time you look at the painting. When the viewer is familiar with the particular place depicted I want them to feel some of the sensations of that place – a cold wind, intense sunlight, the extreme openness of the mountain view, or the closeness of the deep forest.
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
For better or worse, I was apprehensive about my ability to survive solely by my art when I was deciding what to do in college. So I studied something that I felt had some practical applications but was also interesting to me, alongside my study of studio art. It eventually led me to a great job which doesn’t take up all of my time. I wouldn’t give it up for anything. The job doesn’t occupy my headspace when I’m in the studio.
I have been in situations where I had work that paid the bills, but I wasn’t happy. That dissatisfaction overflowed into my creative space. The disruption of my painting was too high a price for extra financial comfort. Work on finding a place in each “compartment” of your life that is satisfying, even if it takes a long time and your ultimate goal is still to make a living solely on your art. You will always find time to hone your art skills if you want to, and you have to keep honing those skills to proceed. Art-making is like a muscle. The more you exercise it the stronger it gets. A supportive partner helps, too.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I post my finished work and lots of process images on Instagram. My main web gallery and store is where I post available work, write a blog about what I’m up to and have an email list sign-up so that folks can get advance word on shows, events, and sales.
The best support for an artist is viewer appreciation! So if a work grabs you and you want to gaze into its depths, it should be yours. Art makes you feel good and having it around you in your home is enriching. It also keeps me out on the trails pursuing that next great piece. You are growing your collection of beautiful things and helping the artist do what she loves.
Contact Info:
- Website: rmfullerton.com
- Phone: 6174356580
- Email: info@rmfullerton.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/rmfullerton/
- Facebook: facebook.com/RebeccaMFullerton
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