J.R. (Rusty) Cook
1961-2018

J.R. was born in 1961 and raised in the Texas Panhandle town of Borger.  His introduction to painting was in his Grandmothers kitchen in Olney , Texas.  While visiting her as a child, his Grandmothers friend, Claire Daily taught informal lessons during his summer visits. 

"High school art classes were frustrating due to the emphasis on modern art and that steered me away from an art career" said J.R.  "From that point it was experimentation and self-teaching."   J.R. quit painting for almost 15 years until he started again in 2008 and considers it fortunate to paint with Kaye Franklin in Graham for the past 4 years.  

Art has been a constant in his life, instead of going out at night he said he  would stay home and practice his skills at painting and drawing.  Most of his  friends have been surprised to find out he paints until recently when he started having  solo shows in local galleries.  Although; he is painting more Plein Air, he is most comfortable in his studio.

His desire  is to paint a work of art that will give the viewer a taste of the country that he likes, or even remind them of a familiar place.  For this reason, he is hesitant to title his art and when he does, it is mainly a descriptive title.  Everyone responds differently  to the scenes depicted on his canvas.