It wouldn’t be much of a stretch in Mary Ruedig’s case to say the art bug was surgically implanted.
The plot for the next James Bond movie this is not; rather, Ruedig was slated for surgery about 15 years ago and was worried how she would fill the six weeks she had to take off from work for recovery. So she picked up a paintbrush.
And she hasn’t put it down.
“I got started when I had to have surgery and take six weeks off and I was nervous about not having anything to do for six weeks,” Ruedig said. “A friend came over and got me started on watercolor, and it was just one of those things – once I got started, I couldn’t stop.”
Ruedig, a teacher for 30 years before retiring, has created something of a second career as a watercolor artist, joining forces with Merrimack River Painters, a group of about a dozen artists from New England who show in Concord and beyond. She has also been a regular contributor to the Friends Charity Auction and will have a piece of her work – a watercolor scene of sap buckets hanging from a row of trees – included in this year’s event.
“I love being able to be part of the auction,” Ruedig said. “I think the friend’s program is a really fantastic program. It’s great for Concord, and being able to help is great for me.”
Ruedig, who taught first and third grade at Dewey and Kimball schools in Concord, said she is particularly drawn to landscapes but has “just started to do some abstract” work, as well. She has dabbled in mono prints with ink and pastels, but has never used oil. She initially selected watercolors, she said, because they were “the easiest to clean up.”
Inspiration can come from anywhere, which is why she usually travels with sketchbook and camera in hand. The scene she painted for this year’s auction wasn’t from a particular street in Concord, she said, though she’s seen similar images around the city.
She has created hundreds of works over the years, painting several days a week since she picked up a brush, though she admitted some of the creations “end up in the trash.” Most of the others hang from the walls in her home, because, as she puts it, “what else am I going to do with them?”
She has also sold several pieces at shows with the Merrimack River Painters.
“It’s all-encompassing,” Ruedig said of painting. “It’s not so much relaxing as it is like puzzle-solving for me. I put something down and then try to fix it. I think, what can I do to make this better?”
It was the enjoyment that first roped Ruedig into painting, especially since confidence can be difficult as a blossoming artist – “artists are really hard on themselves. It takes people telling you that they like your stuff,” she said – but she’s become something of a staple in the local watercolor landscape and is pleased to be able to take part in things like the upcoming auction.
“For me, when people I respect say that they appreciate what I’m doing, that’s big,” Ruedig said. “It’s always nice when people want to buy or bid on something at auction. It makes you feel good.”
