Rustie McCusker

Boston, MA

“I don’t know why I make art exactly; I am compelled to create. It’s beyond my control.”

Rustie McCusker is an artist shaped by movement, observation, and an internal drive to create. His early years were spent living across Gibraltar, Spain, England, Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man before eventually settling in the United States, where he has lived for over two decades. This constant exposure to different cultures and environments left a lasting imprint on his perspective, informing both the diversity and cohesion found within his work.

“I was filled up early,” he reflects. As a dyslexic teenager, Rustie found refuge in libraries, regularly borrowing oversized books on art, photography, architecture, and ceramics. These volumes became his primary source of inspiration, so much so that he no longer feels the need to seek it externally. “I don’t need new inspiration. I am full of it.” In hindsight, he recognizes creativity as the central thread of his identity, a constant presence that has offered both comfort and frustration, particularly during times when he is unable to create.

Art provides a rare sense of clarity and control. Living with ADHD and dyslexia, Rustie describes the creative process as the one space where he feels fully at ease. “It’s where everything settles,” he says. Over time, this has been complemented by a deeply mindful and observant outlook. Rustie focuses on the balance of nature and the underlying patterns of life, ideas that subtly permeate his work.

Some of his earliest artistic impressions were profoundly impactful. A reproduction from the Book of Kells, seen in his aunt’s home in Bangor, Northern Ireland, sparked a fascination with intricate Celtic knotwork that continues to influence his compositions. Later, encountering Antoni Gaudí’s work in Barcelona, particularly the Sagrada Família, was another pivotal moment. “It blew my mind,” he recalls, struck by its organic, almost living architecture.

Throughout his travels, Rustie made a point of visiting major art museums across Europe, including those in Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brussels, Edinburgh, and Dublin. These experiences expanded his visual vocabulary, though his work remains largely driven by imagination rather than direct reference.

“There’s always been an itch,” he says. From a young age, he worked quickly and prolifically, often completing multiple pieces in a single day. That urgency has since evolved into a more deliberate approach. Today, he takes his time, revisiting and restarting pieces when necessary. His style continues to refine itself, increasingly leaning toward organic, natural forms, often inspired by stylized interpretations of the sun and nature.

Rustie primarily works in pencil to establish structure, then inks his lines using Rapidograph pens with Indian ink, before finishing with watercolor. Limiting himself to just six watercolor pigments, he builds a full spectrum of color, embracing both discipline and exploration within constraint. “I love the precision of ink and the depth of watercolor,” he explains. “And I’m obsessed with blue, you’ll see that everywhere.”

His work emerges largely from imagination, “imagining things that are not,” and serves as both a creative outlet and a means of reflection. While creating, his mind is free to wander. “It’s like I think in the background,” he says. “That’s where I grew into myself.” Despite producing over 3,000 individual pieces, he feels he has only begun to surface the ideas within him.