Artist Spotlight: Greta Rhuberg
Photos by Greta Rhuberg. Wiseman’s View, in a Dream, Oil on Wood Panel, 10x20.
The Appalachian Preservation Project presents me, Greta Rhuberg, as this week’s artist spotlight.
Tell me about your background. Who are you at your core? Why did you become an artist?
I grew up in a little town in western North Carolina, left for college as soon as I could, and came right back before my degree even shipped out, against the wishes of the version of myself that left in the first place. Art is something that has always interested me. I was drawing from the time I could hold a pencil, cycling through the possibilities of what I might do when I grew up. Art teacher, artist, fashion designer, back to art teacher, astrophysicist (don’t ask), and now I’ve landed at artist again, now that I’m a bonafide adult. No matter what I went through, art was there for me, even when I didn’t want it.
How long have you been painting?
About 5 years, I took an oil painting class as my first elective in my freshman year of college and absolutely loved it. The feel of oil paints under my brush (all hail Gamblin) was addicting, and I painted on and off as I found time from then on.
Why did you begin pursuing art professionally?
In December, I graduated from my university with a degree in history, and in teaching. I loved it, and still do, but the classroom wasn’t for me. I was getting my heart broken too often, not getting enough sleep, and worked to the bone. After a few months of working in retail, I switched to the Appalachian Preservation Project, which gave me the opportunity and mental space to make art again.
Lyra, Oil on Canvas, 8x10.
What is the most challenging part of creating? The most rewarding part?
The most challenging part of painting is burnout. Burnout, burnout, burnout. Then burnout again. B U R N O U T. The most rewarding part is seeing my fiancee’s face when I’m painting. She lights up and just watches and comments and listens as I ramble about color theory and ideas, encouraging me to just go ahead and finish, even when we’re both exhausted and the natural light is long gone.
What artists inspire you the most?
Alexandre Cabanel is a huge one, my history thesis spoke in depth about his painting The Birth of Venus, and I have a tapestry of the same painting somewhere tucked away in storage. His use of color is so inspirational to me. John Everett Millais is another big one, I always found a way to work his paintings into my lectures when I taught history. In more modern terms, I love love love Robin Sealark and Margaret Morales.
What life experiences inform your art?
As someone from Appalachia, I can’t separate that from my art. I grew up taking clogging lessons, going to the Molasses Festival, line dancing at my favorite barbecue restaurant, and so on and so forth. I also am of the belief that girlhood is one of the most powerful things someone can go through, and I strive to feed into that feeling with my work. I like pink, and I like bright colors, and lace and princesses and Little Women and collectible Barbies.
How do you hope your art impacts people?
I hope people feel something when they look at my art. If that’s just dislike, then so be it, but I sure would rather it be something positive. Mostly, I hope my art makes people feel like they know me.
Who or what inspires you most?
My fiancee. She more or less inspires everything I do and I’m so grateful to her for putting up with my antics. Also my parents and little sister, who I love so so so very much.
