This week’s “Art” page is a profile of Fort Worth painter Jo LeMay Rutledge, who after many years of doing commissioned work for Cowtown society is now getting her first solo show at Artspace 111. Farm to Market features her sly, vibrant, documentary-style take on the Western art genre.
Two of Rutledge’s favorite artists are early 17th century Italian master Caravaggio and French Impressionist pioneer Monet. The apparent differences between these artists – the former bold and dramatic, the latter subtle and delicate – are both present in Rutledge’s Western art canvases.
“People say, ‘Your paintings are realistic,” she told me. “But I’ve gone to great length to organize them [on each canvas] as abstract shapes and colors. What abstraction does is help you paint a picture that’s not static. I love movement.”
