Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM
by Rush Cole
…blackness. Trapped. Overwhelmed. No way out. Tired, so tired. Sudden energy from the surge of self-hatred that roared through me.
“Get it over with, you don’t deserve to live!” The blade against my wrist.
The Voice, coming from a part of me I didn’t know existed. “Put down the knife, Rush. You can paint this out. Put down the knife and pick up your brush. Just try…”
I began.
“This is the single painting that still causes me to cringe when I see it, mostly because it portrays me in a state of abject hopelessness, despair and psycho-spiritual poverty. And yet, painting this particular image proved to be the turning point that saved my life.” Painting beautiful portraits of people and horses, landscapes, and still lifes has never been a problem for Santa Fe artist, Rush Cole. Depicting the grim scenes that had haunted her for years was another matter, though. Once begun, the images exploded onto canvas after canvas until there were seventeen in all. This past May, Rush narrated a presentation of her paintings at Southwestern College, with words that told a riveting story of childhood abuse and triumphant recovery. A story that is told in her book, “ART OF THE JOURNEY: The Healing Of A Lifetime.” Stay tuned, Rush Cole will present another exploration of this transformational and therapeutic process of art this fall.To see more of Rush’s art, visit rushcolefineart.com.
COPYRIGHT 2012
