Isn’t it funny how siblings can be so alike – and yet, so very different at the same time?  Above, my latest work, and first completed piece of 2012, features my brother Michael.  Below, a painting by Michael, given to me this past Christmas, features my little sister, Casey, and me. I absolutely love the priceless expressions, the similarities and differences, the contrasts and family-oriented creativity. Both pieces currently hang on my bedroom wall.

Painting By Michael Rouse (Mixed Media on Canvas)

Check out the vintage trunk I found outside the trash compactor at my old apartment complex, about two years ago.  It collected some dust sitting in a garage since then – but, over the holiday, I was finally able to dive in and get my hands dirty.

BEFORE:

GUTTED:

HALF WAY THERE:

With a chisel, some sandpaper, a hefty rag, stain, paint, and a little love…

…It made the perfect compliment to my new little get-away space!

Forecasted Resolve, 2011
Watercolor, Pastel, Charcoal on Paper
22″ x 30″

Harlequin Dreamer, 2011
Gouache, Acrylic, Charcoal, Conte on Paper
22″ x 30″

Savior, 2005
Powdered Graphite, Watercolor, Charcoal on Paper
29″ x 41″

Waterfront Recovery, 2011
Acrylic, Gouache, Charcoal, Conte on Paper
22″ x 30″

The Aftermath (MIM), 2010
Acrylic, Shellac, Charcoal, Pastel, Thread
Paper mounted on wood
30″ x 44″

Allegory and Autonomy (Her Screaming Phoenix), 2008
Acrylic, Pastel, Charcoal on Paper
29″ x 41″

When The Sun Comes Up, A Daydream

The smell of morning
Hints of you on the pillows

Lost in reverie
Remnants fly by, willows
In the wind

Tangled in [you]
Moments contend

With one another
Each better than the last

The look in your eyes
A longing for the next

Of many
Like a dream
Intertwined.in.your.love.

Traces Of You, 2010, Archival Pigment Print

Traces Of You was recently exhibited at CCCP Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as part of their group show, Heart Throb, a collection of images representing interpretations of passion, love, and intimacy.

6″x9″ prints (edition of 10) are currently available.  Please contact me by email for pricing and shipping details: chrissierouse.arts@gmail.com.

For Press and Industry Inquires, Contact Me!
HeroesAndStrangers@Gmail.com

…and be sure to check us out on Facebook!

This is definitely a show you don’t want to miss!

Sitting ever so casually, with my toes in the grass, I dusted off my boxes of paints and set up my freshly stretched linen, preparing myself for 3 back-to-back afternoons of nothing but taking in the beautiful scenery, talking about art and sometimes just life with the passerby, tuning out to the tunes in my headphones, and picnic-ing deli lunches with my best friend.  Claiming our territory bright and early at Mill Pond, just left of the old Grist Mill, where the ducks, geese, and occasional swan are in charge, we set out to bring life to our blank surfaces.  Artists painted under the trees and along the water, in Avalon Park, roadside near the Village Center, around the Harbor, and in and around Sand Street Beach. Everywhere you walked, there were new and beautiful things created right before your eyes.

Reporters from the Three Village Patch shot a beautiful short clip of myself, as well as a few of the other artists on Day 1 (of 3) of the festival, as we painted en plein air in the heart of Historic Stony Brook.

All paintings are currently on view at Gallery North (90 North Country Road, Setauket, New York, 11733), and available to purchase through a silent auction 10am-5pm Tuesday, July 12th and Wednesday, July 13th, as well as Thursday, July 14th - bidding ends at 7pm Thursday evening, during the closing reception.  The reception, open to the public, will take place at the gallery, from 6pm-8pm (Thursday, July 14th).  

Home

Breathe in the open air
The sounds of smiles in my ear

Dirt covered toes, carefree spirit in the sun
Green and blue on my nose

For a short while, I’ve lost that feeling to run
Dreams recreated in color
A vivid expression of where I came from

This place I call home ~
The beauty of the landscape, the smell of dew after rain
A brand new canvas, rusty jar, tarnished rag
And once again, I feel sane…

Falling into that place that makes me just.want.to.stay.

Lilies on Mill, 2011, Oil on Linen, 15″ x 20″ SOLD

Lilies on Mill was painted en plein air at Stony Brook’s Mill Pond, during Gallery North’s 7th Annual Wet Paint Festival (in honor of Long Island artist, Joe Reboli) July 8th – 10th, 2011.  It currently belongs to a private collection in Centereach, New York.

Crashing waves, but a starless sky
A world escaped 
Still burning in those big eyes
Memories flash
As the relics wash away
Breaking free
Mistakes, fear, a clouded pain
Years, silenced
Walls towering high
And in a moment of lifelessness
It all seems to run astray
Dim, then dark
A pause, then a thought
Maybe now, she’s ready.to.start.living.again.

Night’s Meadow is the first in a new series of paintings and mixed media works, entitled Interpretations ~ A study of existing imagery, re-interpreted with a brush, pen, or piece of charcoal, based on a newly juxtaposed set of literature for each work.

Just.Another.Day is a collection of photographs based on the original guitar piece, Human World, by my brother, Michael. In my photography, like in my painting, I work with multiple subjects, from portraiture to landscape, with a simple, common objective in the search to capture the essence of being – whatever that may mean for the project at hand. My work functions as a collabortive effort between visual expression and written word – integrating literature in the form of thought, poetry and musical lyric into the stories I intend to convey with each of my visual subjects.

I am most intrigued by the ability to capture the candid nature of human expression and form into a still exploitation. Even in the most choreographed of scenes, I find there are always moments to be captured on film that define the true fundamental core of one’s character. I take this approach with non-human subjects, as well, exploring the most minute and delicate aspects of nature, with electrifying spontaneity, on a macro level.

Just.Another.Day marries humor and the joys of living and exploring, with hints of sadness and the unexpected that make up each of our days. Highlighting my most loyal subjects, friends and family, and the parks and beaches of Long Island that allowed me to be the person and artist I am today, this series represents exactly that – just another day in the search to capture life in it’s raw form.