Matthew Rucker
Matthew Rucker is a colorblind surrealist painter whose work explores the emotional language of color and form. Rather than depicting the world as it appears, he paints it as he feels it should be: quiet, balanced, and filled with a sense of calm. His paintings combine precise technique with poetic restraint, inviting viewers to pause, breathe, and reconnect with stillness in a fast-moving world.
His ongoing Balance series blends hyperrealism and minimalism to create serene, contemplative compositions. Each piece features a single subject surrounded by open space and softly graded tones, allowing light and silence to play as central elements. The result is work that feels both intimate and expansive, drawing strength from simplicity rather than complexity.
Though Rucker experiences color differently due to severe colorblindness, his process is rooted in intuition. He mixes unexpected hues until they resonate emotionally, describing the moment the color “sings” as the point when a painting can begin. Many of his subjects represent people close to him — family, friends, even his dog — portrayed through animal or symbolic imagery. Each painting becomes a quiet act of connection, merging technical mastery with a deeply personal search for peace and beauty.
Matthew Rucker came to Rossow Photography to document his paintings, which present a unique technical challenge due to their extremely smooth color transitions and fine surface detail. Traditional scanning often produced unwanted banding and loss of subtle tonal variation. Through precision lighting and high-resolution imaging, Mitch Rossow was able to preserve both the delicate gradients and intricate brushwork of Rucker’s originals — a result the artist describes as the first time his paintings have been accurately represented in digital form.
Artwork Photography
Specialized oil painting photography for artists, galleries and collectors. Artwork beautifully reproduced with no glare & accurate color at affordable prices.
Mitch produces high resolution artwork photography for use on websites, social media, email, magazine articles, ads or prints. The images are color corrected with even lighting across the entire surface.
