New Paintings for "Max Toy Company: All Out Destruction" group show at FOE

"Kaiju Zanga Surfaces Off Hampton Beach, NH, 1986" is 20" x 16", acrylics with luminous gouache, pearlized paint and fluorescent paint on gallery-wrapped canvas.



"Kaiju Axron Visits The Old Man of the Mountain, NH, 1973", is 12" x 16", acrylics with luminous gouache, pearlized paint and fluorescent paint on gallery-wrapped canvas.

Max Toy Company: All Out Destruction opens at FOE Gallery June 13th with a reception from 6-9. Max Toy Company is the brainchild of illustrator, toy designer and all around kaiju ambassador Mark Nagata. The show will feature original works from Nagata and a guest crew of Northeast artists’ creations based on Max Toy characters. Special guests include: Matt Albanese/MCA, Ryan Bonsall, Bob Conge/Plaseebo, Bob Eggleton, Kristilyn, Will Long/Buildbots, Brian Mahony/Guumon, Joe Merrill/Splurrt, Mister Reusch, Todd Robertson/Mechavirus, and Matt Walker/Dead Presidents Designs. On exhibit through July 6th.

FOE is at 114 Main Street, 2nd floor, Northampton, MA

Loooong time, no update! Thank you to everyone who came to see the "Whittier Birthplace" exhibit at NECC in March and April, it was good to see so many old friends there and meet new ones, too. My presentation was videotaped and is supposed to air on the Haverhill tv station sometime this Spring. Here's Frankensteiny anxious for the artwork to get out of the house so he can have some more floor space for playing ball:



I didn't take any photos during the actual artist reception, unfortunately, but Sheila took one of me at the end of the night.

Eagle Tribune writer Mike LaBella did a front page story about my show:



and Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini invited me to be the Artist of the Month in his office at City Hall, so I have a small display of prints up there now:

I was also invited to give a presentation about my career as an illustrator at the Converse HQ, and was happy & surprised to see some old friends there, too.

New poster & t-shirt design for the mighty El Pelon Taqueria:



I'm going to have new Kaiju toy-themed paintings in this Mark Nagata Max Toy Company show at FOE in Northampton, MA, opening Friday the 13th, 6-9pm, on display until July 6 (painting by Mark Nagata):



And I whipped up this poster for my friends at the Scarlet Letter Press in Salem, MA for their "Summer Samhain Halloween Art Show" this July, too:

Whittier's Birthplace-Paintings and Photographs by caretaker Mark Reusch

Whittier’s Birthplace—Paintings and Photographs by caretaker Mark Reusch
March 4-April 5, 2014



Sponsored by the Northern Essex Community College Art & Design Dept.
March 4-April 5, 2014

Bentley Library—ArtSpace
Northern Essex Community College
100 Elliott Street, Haverhill, MA 01830

Opening Reception & Artist Talk
Wednesday, March 12, 3-5pm
Artist will be present until 8:30pm

Bentley Library—ArtSpace hours:
Monday-Thursday: 2-9pm
Friday: 2-5pm
Saturday: 9am-1pm
Sunday: Closed

Mark Reusch is a freelance illustrator and instructor at Massachusetts College of Art & Design, and has lived in the 326-year old house of famous poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier as caretaker since 2011.
For more information, visit http://www.misterreusch.com

Artist Statement

"With this new body of work focusing on the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill, MA, I am taking advantage of my unique position of being a painter as well as a year-round caretaker of this beautiful and historic landmark. Living in the Whittier family’s 326-year old farmhouse, set on 69 acres of open fields and deep woods, and witnessing the foliage and wildlife throughout the four seasons has been a daily source of inspiration since I moved here in 2011. And as an artist who almost always preferred working from imagination rather than from any kind of observation, these paintings have been a new direction for me.

Living in such an idyllic setting that’s remained largely unchanged for over three centuries has had a pronounced effect on my way of thinking and artistic goals, especially after having lived in the Boston and Providence areas for 20 years. I work primarily from home as a freelance illustrator, and spend time outdoors each day and night, walking the fields and woods with my dogs, observing and appreciating the natural world around me. These new paintings and photographs are a record of what I see each day."

2 More New Paintings & Signed Prints

I recently finished up some more new work for my exhibit this March:



These are available as signed prints in My Etsy shop here.

New Paintings & Prints

Happy 2014! Here are some new paintings I finished for my exhibit this March at Northern Essex Community College of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace. Signed prints are available in my Etsy shop here.

UNBORED Wins Another Design Competition!

I'm pretty thrilled to share my friend designer Tony Leone's photo and the good news that UNBORED was included in Print's 2013 Regional Design Annual! The book we all worked together on for so long has won 3 design awards this year, woohoo!

2 More Signed Prints Added to Etsy Shop

I recently finished 2 more landscapes of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill, MA, and signed prints are now available in my Etsy shop here.

short but sweet Creature from the Black Lagoon masking tape & wire mask how-to

Here are some photos and a brief explanation of my galvanized wire and masking tape mask-building process:

Wire framework of the head, made from 14-gauge galvanized wire, with small sections of 24-gauge wire wrapped around every 14-gauge wire joint in figure-eight shapes to tighten them.


Double-wide masking tape wrapping the wire, with some balled-up tape to help mold the features----less-messy and less-smelly to work with than papier-mache



Layers of acrylic paint over a base coat of Mars Black

New Autumn Shadows Signed Print

I just finished the 24" x 18" Autumn landscape I started long ago, and signed prints are now available in my Etsy shop here.

New Stormy Autumn Sky Signed Print

Just finished another 16" x 12" acrylic for my show next March, signed prints are now available in my Etsy shop here.

New Winter Sunset Signed Print

I just finished another acrylic 20" x 16" for my March 2014 exhibit of John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace paintings at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, MA. Signed 14" x 11" prints are now available in my Etsy shop here.

New Winter Scene Signed Print

Just finished another painting for my solo show opening next March at Northern Essex Community College of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace. This one's the little Poet's Bridge in early morning after a snowy night. Signed prints are now available in my Etsy shop here.

"Little Moon" & "Snow-Bound" New Signed Prints

Two more new signed prints for my March 2014 solo show is now available in my Etsy shop here.

New Hammerhead Shark & Mermaid Signed Print

To celebrate the start of Shark Week, my new 16" x 12" signed digital print is for sale for $20 with free Priority Shipping instead of the regular $30 until midnight, August 11th! Just the thing to spice up your clam shack, saltbox, or watery grave! Available here.

More Whittier Birthplace Signed Prints

I finished two more acrylic paintings for my Spring 2014 show, and posted signed prints of them available here.

Black Bart print

Today I finished another acrylic painting of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace. This one shows Black Bart, a young bull grazing in Autumn. The original is 20" x 16" and will be exhibited in Spring 2014, but signed 14" x 11" prints are now up in my Etsy shop here.

LOOK III Show @ FOE, Northampton, MA July 12, 2013

My original 16" x 20" acrylic painting, "Amity, As You Know, Means Friendship", is for sale at FOE, 114 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Northampton, MA, as part of their "Look III" show opening July 12, 2013. The opening reception is from 6-9pm, Friday, July 12th, 2013. I also have 2 framed 11" x 14" signed prints in the show:



Unframed/signed prints are available here.

More Whittier Birthplace Landscapes

I just finished a new 16" x 12" acrylic of the last leaf of Autumn 2012, still hanging on in late Winter 2013, at sunset over the sprawling back fields of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace. Signed prints are available here.

Here are some more works in progress from this series: