Mark Ruchlewicz Arts

Born in Toronto into an artistic family, I grew up immersed in both art and music. As a youngster, I could often be found drawing on the blank side of my father’s large architectural plans. It was also at this time that my father introduced me to plein air painting.  Alternatively, another good day growing up would involve sneaking a listen to my sister’s Beatles records or my brothers Black Sabbath records. So, in addition to drawing, I found myself gravitating towards the drums. Before I entered high school, I was a member of a fledgling group that attempted to play covers and write songs. We performed the odd gig at local schools and drop-in centres, and as time passed, when we were old enough, we played in a few bars. In addition to my musical duties, designing the band's t-shirts and custom painting our PA cabinets were tasks I happily undertook. 

Following this passion for the arts, I studied visual fine arts and education at York University. Graduating in 1984 I then began a career teaching art at the high school level which lasted for 30 years. I taught primarily at Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts. While there, I was encouraged to incorporate some of my own paintings into the art curriculum, teaching the students by example, some of my own processes. I still continued to play in bands and during this time, we also started to explore recording in proper studios. Simultaneously, I made some of my paintings available for commercial purposes through stock image companies and I had some success, selling my images in around 30 different counties. Participating in art exhibitions throughout the GTA was another avenue that I also explored, something I continue to do to this day.

Reflecting on the body of work I have created to date, and here I am referring to both visual art and music, admittedly, “eclectic” springs to mind. As you may see, it ranges quite a bit in terms of subject matter, style, size and obviously, media. Many artists better than myself have concluded that, for the soul, it is best to explore all the arts that speak to you rather than to try and disentangle them from one another. Ultimately, I discovered that after developing an aggressive song with other musicians in a studio one day, then, in solitude, painting a night scene on a curved surface the next, this process centers me and brings me peace.

Mark Ruchlewicz, 2023