JO LEMAY RUTLEDGE (American, 20th Century). The American Barditch I, 2008. Oil on canvas. 24 x 36 inches (61.0 x 91.4 cm...

Description

JO LEMAY RUTLEDGE (American, 20th Century)
The American Barditch I, 2008
Oil on canvas
24 x 36 inches (61.0 x 91.4 cm)
Signed lower right: Jo LeMay Rutledge 08
Signed and titled verso: Jo LeMay Rutledge / The American Barditch

In The American Barditch I, Rutledge has taken a new approach to the Texas landscape. Instead of a classic image of open vistas or fenced ranchland, she has placed the viewer in the ditch around the fence. The barbed wire becomes the horizon line, and the grasses, wildflowers, and birds are all crowded around and caught in the ditch, safe from destruction outside the reach of hungry stock. Even in the title Trailer Trash, the artist displays her clever sense of humor by depicting the trash, debris, and old equipment that inevitably piles up around the barn of a working ranch. Rutledge paints in a compelling and contemporary style, but the most interesting aspect of these paintings may be the fact that she captures the realities of the modern Texas ranch free from the idealization of previous artists. Jo LeMay Rutledge is a mostly self-taught artist, who began painting after taking a class with well known landscape artist Dennis Blagg. After some success selling her work privately, she recently made her debut at ArtSpace 111, Fort Worth, and has received critical acclaim in the local media. Her repertoire is wide but has settled on the local genre of Texas themes for the time being.


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