Portfolio
Ascension - “I wanted it to pull you up; the eyes, the heart, the spirit.” – RUSHTON. It takes the blank spaces and infuses them with an uplifting and soul-drenching experience. It moves. It excites the senses. It bathes the dark with light, color, and positivity. It is transformative. It inspires. Created to the Out of Africa soundtrack, an inspirational musical creation all its own. - Ascension 48” x 48”
Bannockburn - Bannockburn. It’s a place. It’s a famous battle. It’s history. It’s independence. It’s the end of hundreds of years of oppression and fear. It’s liberating. And all in this small area, where a lazy river meanders through peaceful and beautiful surroundings. In 1314, ragtag Scottish freedom fighters beat insurmountable odds to claim their freedom. They were indeed warrior poets. We are them. We are all warrior poets, fighting the good fight and claiming our right to enjoy the peaceful river, as it winds its way through our troubled lives. A proud Scot myself, I wanted to capture our spirit. I wanted all the texture and color of that feeling, of that place. And I wanted to paint it to one of my favorite soundtracks. - Bannockburn 40” x 60”
Banzai Pipeline - I have stood on the sands of the beach beholding the frightening power of the great Banzai Pipeline. Perhaps the most famous wave in the world, it is a wonder to behold. Fast. Scary. Beautiful. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thrill ride. The crown jewel of the North Shore of Hawaii. Surrounded by the colors of aloha. I wanted to capture that excitement. That rush. That explosion of life. Painted to the smooth sounds of the Chariots of Fire soundtrack. - Banzai Pipeline 48” x 60”
Before the Storm - Just before the storm, the sky is ablaze with emotion, color, and dramatic intentions. The movement, the fear, the excitement of the blending color; calm becomes frenetic, bland becomes electric. And the music sets the mood. Created to some of the grooviest jazz sounds from the greats. Makes it all cool, baby. The calm before the Storm, man! The perfect accent for your living and thinking spaces. - Before the Storm 20” x 60”
Big Bang - The Big Bang started it all. An explosion of epic proportions and colors. Rich, deep texture tells stories from time’s very beginnings. It turns your wall into a panoramic vision of light and sound and explosive passion. Created to some of the most soulful and inspirational music ever recorded. Feel the heat. Experience Big Bang. - Big Bang 48” x 60”
Blue Ridge Memories - This piece speaks to me like the views on the mountaintops have spoken to me. The calm mists blow through the valleys of our lives in colors and hues only imagined by the awakened sun. The view is not so much far as it is deep. Deep inside us, we feel the peace of our existence. We feel the bosom of the mountain, this home, this morning, this life. The view goes on forever. Painted to the iconic Appalachian Spring by Copland. - Blue Ridge Memories 30” x 40”
Coy Koi - Bright and bold palette knife swipes create the movement of creatures through nature. The coy orange tones are the Coy Koi playfully swishing their way through life. Joy and hope follow, as they create the depth and texture of childlike motion. In your home, they spread the happy in color and tones of green nature that blend with the surroundings maintaining their shy existence. Painted to one of the great Rogers and Hammerstein musicals, The King and I. - Coy Koi 48” x 36”
Elysium - Rushton’s largest work to date, this piece is a veritable wall of color and emotion. It lets you soar above it all. Picture it in your home or office. The soothing qualities and the depth carry you skyward and let you view infinity. It is heaven. The Romans called it Elysium. Painted to some of the most beautiful and inspirational movie music of all time, including the hauntingly gorgeous soundtrack, The Mission by the great Ennio Morricone. Experience Elysium! - Elysium 80” x 90”
Enzo - Ferrari, the hallowed halls of motor racing. The holy grail of style and speed. And at the heart of it all was the great, Enzo Ferrari. It’s just a little piece of the world, Modena, Italy. A little town, home of Pavarotti and Ferrari. How did all that great come out of that little village? I have always adored Ferrari. The brand. The speed. The victory. Ferrari Red. I mean, it’s officially a color. Enzo created a color! They had to make a car called the Enzo. Only 400 have been made. I wanted to capture the heart, the speed, the color, the romance, the victory, and winning spirit that is Enzo. The original painting is a LOT less expensive than the car; I can assure you! - Enzo 30” x 40”
Eroica - The meaning of the word, Eroica is heroic. Beethoven called his third symphony The Eroica. It was dedicated to Napoleon, who at the time was viewed as heroic and the great liberator of the French Revolution. As a work of art, Eroica exhibits bold strokes of emotion against a muted background to capture all the available light, creating a truly heroic expression. It blends with fabric and earth tones, and leather pieces in a way most work does not. It ignites. It’s a revolution all to itself. Painted to Beethoven’s Third Symphony, recorded by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Herbert Von Karajan. - Eroica 40” x 60”
Ethereal - Muted. Soft. Clouds of soothing emotion floating through memory. Laying on soft summer grass and looking up towards tomorrow, towards the romance of future love. Purple magic in every shade calling to you from somewhere distant, somewhere ethereal. The way this piece handles the light is other-worldly. Painted to the ethereal sounds of “Heavy Weather” by the cool jazz band, Weather Report, Stone Roses debut album and the Purple Rain soundtrack. - Ethereal 40” x 60”
Feel Flows - “The wall of calm and meditation.” That was a quote I heard someone make about this piece when it was first revealed. That’s the vibe you get when you take it in. And when it’s on your wall, that wall becomes consumed with the feel flows…the good, warm feeling of wading into summer surf, the sounds of hot insects and the slight cool breeze that finds its way through your damp curls. That’s the feel flows. Painted to several iconic albums, one of them being “Feel Flows” by The Beach Boys…the sounds of summer. Look into it. Deep into it. You feel that? - Feel Flows 48” x 60”
Hanami - Hanami is the Japanese tradition of celebrating the cherry blossom and flowers and a time of renewal and promise. This tradition can be traced back at least a thousand years. The celebration of beauty; the beauty of new life. The celebration of the art of it all. Hanami is bright and beautiful and lights up your space with a joyous celebration of life and nature and the emotion of hope. Painted to the uplifting and inspirational soundtrack, The Last Samurai. - Hanami 24” x 48”
Icarus - Take a trip to the sun, but don’t get too close. But that’s where the fun is. Passion, color, and bold slashes of the palette knife take you as close as you need to be. Feel the warmth, the excitement, the depth and spread your decorating wings. Created to the sounds of Yes, a visionary group of skilled musicians taking their own trips near the sun. Bold. Movement. Passion. Depth. Exhilaration. Heat. Color. - Icarus 30” x 60”
Jazz at Tate’s - “Feel the beat! Groovy, baby. That’s jazz. That’s live jazz played by musicians who care. Musicians who’ve put their whole life into it, man. Practicing late nights. Put the vinyl on the turntable and listen to the hiss, the pop, the friction. The friction of life. I wanted to capture that. All of that. I wanted the colors of the music to surround the bodies, the instruments, the feeling. The music of the night, man. The music of life. - Jazz at Tate’s 36” x 48”
Kaleidoscope - Remember being a kid and looking through a kaleidoscope for the first time? Was it magic? How could the world turn into this revolving, moving wonder wheel of mesmerizing color and light? That’s what I wanted this piece to capture. It took almost two months to complete the saturation of color shards for just the right combination of prestidigitation. It never stops. On your wall it becomes a sensual partner with the light, and sings and spins and invites you in. Painted to the Ford v Ferrari soundtrack. - Kaleidoscope 48” x 60”
Nether Lands Prim - The earliest ages of time meander through the texture and depth of color of this abstract prim. The sounds no longer heard call out to the stranger that dares to enter there. Remembering the words…the first words. The feelings. The emotions. The first ones. The forever ones. Richness of natural hues encapsulate and surround. You are at peace; this is a spiritual setting. These are the Nether Lands. Wander there every chance you get. The answers are there. On your wall, this will be a constant reminder of the Nether Lands of your life. The ones you’ve been to, and the ones you’ve yet to find. Painted to the great Nether Lands by Dan Fogelberg. - Nether Lands Prim - 30” x 40”
Nocturnal - Listen to the music of the night. Feel the tension, the depth, the darkness….the unknown….the exhilarating…It’s intoxicating and scary. It fills you with a longing, and a lust for life. This piece is full of mystery and motion…desire and dreams. It’s never ending and captivating. And it fills the wall with questions unanswered, while lighting the way with passion. Painted to The Dark Knight Soundtrack, and several other odes to night and the romance of darkness. - Nocturnal 48” x 60”
Passion Reef - Passion Reef is a destination. It’s a beautiful, snorkel swim over the most alluring and sensational burst of natural color you can imagine. It explodes with texture. It invites with the color spectrum. It’s fire under water. It’s heat beneath smooth skin. Like love, it’s indescribable but desirable. On your wall, it mesmerizes and calls you to it. Again, like the sirens call of love, of passion, of the one…it speaks to you. This is your destination. This is your passion reef. Painted to the iconic Love Story, “a soundtrack that echoed through my youth, like this work echoed through my imagination.” RUSHTON - Passion Reef 48” x 60”
Sister Celsius - Sister Celsius. She burns. She rises. She goes high. She beats the odds. She breaks the stereotypes. She cannot be denied. She is strength, with her feet constantly to the fire. She rides the flames. The glass ceiling snaps and crackles around her, as it hits the fire. She only laughing, as she proves them all wrong. Do you feel it? Do you feel the heat? Do you see her rising? Painted to Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. Watch her fly. - Sister Celsius 20” x 60”
Tahiti - The vibrant color of tropical daydreams. Sun healing worried souls. Tepid sand leaving the past behind. Boat drinks and music played on simple metal pans. Hide away. Write the novel. Lead the mutiny of your own. On your wall, it calls to you. It reflects your everyday and makes it sing. Painted to a collection of the sounds of Sting. Romantic. Introspective. Nothing Like the Sun. - Tahiti 36” x 48”
The Deep - We all have The Deep. Deep thoughts. The deep recesses of who we are, and who we hope to be. In nature, it’s the depths. The places where color is absent from the source of the sun, and imagination and wonder control the senses. Colors unimaginable appear and radiate towards the surfaces. That’s our life. That’s the way the world works. Depth. Color. Texture. Imagination. The Deep. Created to the soundtrack of the 7 seasons of Game of Thrones, a work of art dedicated to The Deep. - The Deep 30” x 40”
The Glade (The Glade Where Achilles Went to Ponder Immortality) - When the need to consider, to ponder, to think ingulfs and surrounds, there must be the place where we go…where heroes go…it is The Glade. There, flowers bloom and nature breathe just for us, just for moments. Not huge investments in time, but that secret spot where we hide away in shadows from the tyranny of time. Created to a collection of great Beatles albums, including “Revolver”, “Beatles for Sale”, “Help”. “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Rubber Soul.” Sounds from The Glade. - The Glade 36” x 48”
The Majestic - Stand on mountaintops, on drastic peaks. On the precipice of tomorrow. In the moments, stare into The Majestic. Encounter awe. Drink life. Blend the colors of yourself and dream. It’s a window on your memories. It’s a trip to the possible. Painted to the groovy, iconic sounds of the 70’s in the Laurel Canyon. Jackson Browne’s debut album. Mama Cass. Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Bonnie Raitt’s first. Buffalo Springfield. - The Majestic 20” x 72”
The Muses of Summer - Rushton says, “I’m a summer boy. I’m a surfer. The beach is in my body and in my soul.” These are The Muses of Summer, the girls on the beach. The smell of suntan lotion and scorched skin. Surf wax melting on a sandy beach blanket. Tanned beach boys flirting with life on the edge of glorious waves, breaking on welcoming crushed shells. Skinny dipped memories and sensations so crisp they sting the nostrils with excitement. Sights and smells. Youth and no worries. Nothing but life, and the muses of the summer sun. Painted to one of my all-time favorite albums and bands, Endless Summer by The Beach Boys. - The Muses of Summer - 40” x 60”
The Spark of Creation - The Spark of Creation. Where does it all begin? The universe. Life. Love. Nature. What comes first, the chicken or the egg? The sperm or the egg? The sun or the stars? Where’s the beginning? Where’s the end? It’s all too much. It’s all out there. It’s all in here. Inner space. Outer space. It’s a big difference. It’s all the same. I wanted to create a piece that captured it all…. whatever it is. It’s the beginning, The Spark of Creation. Inspired by and painted to the Children of Eden soundtrack. - The Spark of Creation 48” x 60”
Vitamin Sea - Under an abstract sea, life is a blend of soothing color, swishing strokes through imaginary sea life and depth and texture that appears through imaginary glass. It’s an aquarium of the mind’s eye. It’s a journey though the bottom of your mind’s sea. It’s life giving. It goes on forever. Stare into it. It calms yet invigorates. You can’t take your eyes off it. Is it moving? So much color, it seems unreal. Maybe it is. That’s’ the abstract sea. That’s the tonic. That’s the Vitamin Sea. Painted to the soundtrack from my favorite surfing film, Big Wednesday. - Vitamin Sea 48” x 60”
West Side Story - I have directed this show several times. It has a heartbeat and a pulse like no other. Perhaps the quintessential American musical. Perhaps the best. Finger snaps. Chain link fence. Police whistle. Gunshots. Bloody ballet. Beauty. Innocence. The streets. I wanted to capture that…all of it. The starkness of the concrete. The blood of race. The blood on the sidewalk. The color. The absence of color. The beat. The hustle. The love. The romance. The struggle. It’s Romeo and Juliet done American style. This piece ignites it all, and the colors blend with life. - West Side Story 48” x 60”