Collection: Dusti Rinehart
A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE ARTIST
1. What do you do when you’re not making art? (Day job etc...).
When I am not making art I stay fairly busy. So much so that I went over 10 years without painting. This was unpleasant to say the least. I am a mom with 3 young boys, my oldest of which are twins. So I am quite skilled at multi-tasking! I have a wonderful husband who is very community oriented, which basically translates to “we” are very busy with the community. I also have a career as an Environmental Specialist focusing on water quality.
2. Why do you make art?
Art is my creative outlet which has always been essential to my own personal joy in life. When I create I become fully immersed and focused on what I am doing. In this way it calms the emotional ups and downs and the general chaos of a busy life.
3. What inspires you?
I always find that articulating a good answer to this question can be challenging. To say that I am inspired by beauty is simplistic and undescriptive since we all tend to see beauty differently. Yet, it is still such an accurate statement. It was beautiful when I saw my son help another kid on the playground, when my husband stopped to change a stranger’s tire, and when the sun begins to set in our Arizona sky. I see beauty in our humanity, in our spirit, and in the world around us. As you might notice, I see beauty in an obscene number of things so this is challenging in its own way. My biggest artistic block never comes from not knowing what to paint but deciding on which of the many things I want to paint next.
4. What/who are your influences?
My grandmother was a huge creative influence in my life when I was a child and definitely steered me into finding creative outlets in life. Today my influences come from many different things and people. I find myself influenced by some wonderful artists who are active today; Lisa Clough, Ryan O’Rourke, Angela Anderson, and Cinnamon Cooney. Their methods of painting are all very different from each other and I find myself influenced by these differences. I have a lot of respect for my fellow artists and how they have become skilled in their techniques.
5. If you could meet anyone dead or alive who would it be?
I am sure there are probably some very deep answers to this question. To be honest though, I would LOVE to meet so many people! Dr. Charles Stanley, Cinnamon Cooney, Ryan O’Rourke, the members of the band “Need to Breathe,” Robert Frost and, well, so many more. There are just so many people I have a deep respect for that this list could go on for pages.