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  • Alec Rudek

Just as every human being is installed with a natural instinct for rhythm, we all have a natural instinct for the visual arts.

My name is Alec Rudek, I am currently 20 years old and I was born and raised in Chicago. It wasn’t until recently that I became interested in discovering a talent in visual art. I would always doodle, draw on a sheet of paper and put it off to the side, until my junior year of high school, when I enrolled in a special art school called Gallery 37, in 2010.

There, I learned how to use mediums other than a pencil, I completed my first real acrylic painting, and that is when i became inspired to take my own path with paint. In 2013, I attended my first music and arts festival, where I was exposed to the endless different styles of art people were creating, and which inspired me to sharpen my own style. This experience inspired me to take my artistic career towards this subculture, because it fosters the values of sharing, creating art through emotional and spiritual expression, values I personally hold as well.

I have been painting steadily for 3 years now and I am honing my skills. I prefer to paint surreal subjects such as dreamscapes or abstracted animals, because I like to experiment with creating objects and animals that do not exist in our world, yet still push realism. I do this by using bright fluorescent colors (perfect with acrylic paint) and the contrast of the colors between each other. I have taken a turn into digital painting, using my tablet PC and Photoshop. Although the process is different than regular pencil and paper, the feel is similar, and I can accomplish much more detail this way; however, I try to spend an equal amount of time painting analogously and digitally.

Painting is my preferred form of communication and expression. I’ve always found it easier to visually represent my mental state and thoughts rather than verbal. It’s my mission to share my art as much as possible with anyone and everyone, because I believe that this is the age for sharing, and I believe art should be shared as much as possible. Using this concept, I want to pursue a career in Art Therapy, where I can help other individuals discover their inner artist, and learn to visually represent their feelings. I believe that the visual arts are a powerful method to finding inner peace, and I wish to take on the responsibility of sharing this idea.


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Alec Rudek, Self-portrait 2, charcoal dyptic, 2011

I currently attend DePaul University, where I study Interactive and Social Media, so I am not completely away from the world of art. My long term plan is to become an art therapist, where I can help others find themselves in a visual rather than verbal fashion. [End Page 191]


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Alec Rudek, Over the Arctic, acrylic, 2011

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Alec Rudek, Butterfly Being, digital painting, 2014

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Alec Rudek, Falling Asleep, mixed media (pastel, acrylic), 2012

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Alec Rudek, Nebula Over Volcano, acrylic, 2011

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Alec Rudek, Jump!, mixed media (pastel, acrylic, sand/moss), 2012

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Alec Rudek, Dreamscape 2, acrylic, 2013

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Alec Rudek, Dreamscape 3, acrylic, 2013

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Alec Rudek, Forest, acrylic, 2012

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Alec Rudek, untitled Landscape 2, acrylic, 2012

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Alec Rudek, Falling, self-portrait, pastel/charcoal, 2011

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