Low Down Articles
Artist Profiles - Elizabeth Rutledge
Article 60 of 73
From the book Artists of the Gatineau Hill by Catherine Joyce. This article first appeared in the "Artist Profiles" column in the November 16, 2005 issue of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
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The Golden Light of Maturity
The day with its golden light is right out of an Elizabeth Rutledge pastel - that mysterious glow that emanates from northern woods in autumn. Elizabeth lives surrounded by such light at her home studio on the Kingsmere Road.
"The landscape of the Gatineau Hills compels me - the smell of the damp earth, the changing colours, the light-filled trees. I am fascinated by the different effects of light in the turning seasons. I am rooted to this spot, to this particular landscape of rock and tree, moss and lichen, stream and sky. I want to share my love of this place - to capture the excitement, the joy - to express the ecstatic experience of being part of this land."
Born and raised in Ottawa, Elizabeth was encouraged early on by a mother who painted all her life: 'to follow what you love is to be led and nourished, no matter what the outcome'. After an initial year in Fine Arts at York University, Elizabeth returned home to become part of the eclectic mix of artists, musicians and draft-dodgers who hung out in the 70s around Ottawa University and the Wasteland coffeehouse, where she worked. There she met Robin McNeill, an aspiring young writer and her future husband. Elizabeth completed her Fine Arts degree at Ottawa U, then travelled to England to work, before setting up house with Robin on an abandoned farm in Buckingham.
"In lieu of rent, we fixed up the place. We raised chickens and bees and had a huge garden. Although there was no running water, we built a dark room out of a closet and hauled buckets of water for washing the film. While I dabbled in various forms of creativity Robin wrote stories and songs. It was a time out of time, a chance to reflect. The pressures from art school - where 'the outrageous, the new and the daring' were expected-overwhelmed me. I needed to find my way back to the personal, to a more immediate world I could care about. It would take me 20 more years to return to my painting, to deal with that harsh inner critic - to be able to pursue my art for the joy of it, not to prove myself."
Moving to the Gatineau in 1986 and raising her children, Kylie and Tais, gave Elizabeth the still centre she needed from which to begin her artistic journey anew.
"While the kids were in school I created a space for myself in a cottage we bought next door. I had no big plans. I took my time. Very basic life lessons about what is important - to be honest, to go deep within to find what you love the most. Passion comes through in the work. I began in watercolour. Then my mother passed on some pastels. I took to them immediately - the rich colours, the dramatic, painterly effects. They allowed me to work quickly, not to get bogged down in analysis.
"I work directly, intensely without expectations. I don't know where it is coming from but I don't question it now. Art develops you as a person - it is an evolution that brings you to forgiveness, to a joie de vie that is light itself. That is what I want to put into my paintings, that is what I want to share."