meet the maker

I'm Madeleine Rush, a PNW based painter, backpacker, creator and more. My art is inspired by the feelings of familiarity and the mysterious pull to explore felt on a clear day driving to the mountains when you turn the corner and the world seems to open up before you.

I started painting in 2017 while I was finishing up my BFA in Musical Theatre. Coming from a background of art makes it even more tempting to dabble in new varieties as they come up. Watercolor stuck with me for it's versatility as well as the nostalgia of watercolor painting with my mother as a small child. From there I have continued to learn and grow in to the artist I am today. I've been inspired by local to Washington backcountry artists like Nikki Frumkin and Preeta Willemann, both of whom I hope to one day take a workshop from or simply run into on a trail out in the mountains.

Everything I paint is made on the trail or started there and then finished in my home "studio" otherwise known as the living room usually "assisted" by Marbles, the cat. She has also become rather fond of assisting me in my other artistic projects as well.

Alongside painting I have also been working on custom embroidery, and cyanography (otherwise known as sun printing). Where I am able to express my love for the landscapes around me in painting, I find I can similarly honor the beauty of the flowers in my neighborhood, or the foliage I find hiking or walking around through these mediums. I also just really like customizing my own clothes.

Future plans include opening up custom orders for both embroidery and printing on thrifted clothes and anything else I can get my hands on.