Clovis Dean Rusk is an artist in multiple senses of the word. A Florida native, Clovis Rusk retired from a long career as a commercial graphic artist and has since refocused his talent and energy painting large-format figurative oils in a traditional realist style. While he has won a number of awards as an artist, he still considers himself an aspiring painter. 

Clovis Dean Rusk: An Artful Life

Rusk wanted to be a painter from childhood, citing N.C. Wyeth’s 1917 illustrations for The Adventures of Robin Hood as an inspiration. He received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Tampa where he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree, concentrating in photography and painting. As a professional graphic artist, he spent 35 years navigating the changes of the digital revolution of desktop publishing – which makes his shift to analog and painting with oils a conscious break. 

He learned to paint as a digital pre-press layout artist, using simple process colors used for full-color printing: cyan, yellow, magenta, and black, and he uses a similar process in his oil painting. He works from photography, and before he begins a painting he composites it from layers inside Photoshop. He was raised with a camera and on the ground working as a graphic artist when the Apple Macintosh debuted in the 1980s, so his process is outside the traditional.  

“My paintings are mostly figurative, and as ‘real’ as I can muster with a brush,” he said. “I’ve never been one who has flair or speed, or could be called flamboyant in my style. Tight and stoic is my artistic demeanor. ‘Dark’ is my native tone.”

Rusk’s work has been called “thought-provoking” and “intriguing…equal parts realistic and dreamlike.” It’s easy to see his training in photography in his artwork, as detailed as it is. 

Clovis Rusk markets his prints and original work on FineArtAmerica. To view more of Clovis Dean Rusk’s work, check out his Instagram account.