Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Rausch.
Hi Patrick, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born on a hot Summer day in tropical West Palm Beach Florida when it still had a small-town flavor. What I paint today is a reflection of growing up surrounded by colorful tropical vegetation and having the beach a few miles away. This led to numerous visits to the Florida Keys and years of diving and sailing the Florida coast and the Bahamas. As a result, I love painting seascapes, Florida landscapes and coastal cottages.
My art journey began in childhood with an irresistible desire to draw. This was followed by color pencil work which eventually led to oil paints. I use a limited palette of six colors which helps create more unity within a painting. By painting subjects that I am familiar with and subjects that strike an inner emotion for me, I feel I can be more honest with my work.
I have been sharing what others have shared with me and teaching aspiring artists to paint for over 10 years. I love living in New Smyrna Beach and teaching classes at The Artist Workshop.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say that my painting journey has been both easy and most enjoyable. That is not to say that I did not have to work at it, but I enjoyed the learning process. Each painting I complete brings me joy in different ways and that joy is carried over into the following painting. As a painting instructor, I am convinced that if a person has both the time and the desire to paint, they will eventually become a good artist.
Perhaps the largest obstacle for me in my early painting years was time. Time to practice color mixing, time to experiment with composition, time to visit galleries and museums, and time to paint 500 paintings to grow to the next level.
Another obstacle for many people starting their art journey is having patience, knowing this journey will take years to get to a point where they will be happy with their work. Having a strong desire and believing in themselves helps in this area.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I love to paint and still get excited every time I start a new oil painting. It never gets old and I believe helps keep me young. Having been born and grown up in South Florida, I find it important to create Florida-related oil paintings showing the beauty around us that most people do not see until they see it in a painting. These subjects include backcountry landscapes, seascapes, charming coastal cottages, working watermen, and tropical foliage.
For the past fifteen years, I have been sharing what I have learned from my years as an artist with others by teaching painting classes. I have found a great deal of joy in teaching and coaching painting classes and seeing individuals blossom into artists and the joy it brings them. I feel an artist must have an emotional connection with the subjects they are painting for somebody else to have an emotional connection with their painting.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Even though I have been drawing since childhood and initially wanted to have a career as an artist, life’s circumstances took me down an entirely different road after college, I obtained a professional degree and had a career completely outside of art for over 30 years.
As it turned out, my professional career allowed me the financial freedom to explore other phases of life and art including stained glass, photography, sailing, diving, and oil painting. I believe all of the things we do throughout life come together to make us who we are both good and bad. In my case, many of these life experiences on the water and island travel influence what I paint today.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: @patrickrauschfineart
