I live in Northwest Arkansas overlooking Beaver Lake — surrounded by trees, mountains, and ever-changing light. Living in a place this beautiful invites close attention, and those moments — whether still or charged — are at the heart of everything I make.
My work is abstract, created in monochromatic acrylics and mixed media. I'm less interested in painting the landscape than in capturing the feeling of being there — the impression that lingers long after we've left. A shift in light, a jolt of contrast, a sense of stillness — something that interrupts thought — these are the elements that drive the work.
Ruth holds a Master of Arts in Education from Wichita State University. Her background spans teaching art at both the public school and university levels — a foundation that continues to inform her advocacy for art education. Now based in Northwest Arkansas and working as a full-time artist, her work is exhibited in galleries across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, and New York, and held in private and corporate collections.
Black and white ABSTRACT resonates with me
Black and white is where I live as an artist—in the clarity between light and dark. It can be bold and tense, or calm and restrained. It is the distillation that holds me.
Artists who have influenced and inspired me:
I have many favorite artists, including Ellsworth Kelly, Alma Thomas, Mark Rothko, Ruth Asawa, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Adolph Gottlieb, among others.
Alma Thomas is especially inspiring to me—not only for her long career as an art educator and her dedication to teaching, but also for her decision to fully pursue painting later in life. She began working seriously as an artist at 69, a powerful reminder that it is never too late to follow one’s creative path.
My home studio is nestled in the Ozark Mountains on Beaver Lake where inspiration is abundant.
