Let
West Mifflin’s
Zachary Rutter
uses his art
to spread the
message of love.
Love
Shine
BY W.B. FRESA
T
he last thing local West
Mifflin artist Zachary
Rutter thought he’d be
doing is creating an army. But,
after stockpiling himself with
skill, passion and the drive to
end the war on hate, Zachary’s
#SpreadLoveArmy campaign
is taking aim at anyone and
everyone who’s ready to join
him.
“I’ve always been a positive
and optimistic person,” says
Zachary. “It’s just something I
feel inside, and I do my best to
express it in my painting and
now through my Spread Love
Army movement. I can’t believe
how far reaching it’s become in
such a short time.”
Zachary is a 2013 graduate of
West Mifflin High School, and a
2017 graduate of Slippery Rock
University, where he earned a
degree in Fine Arts. His love
of art started as a young boy,
doodling the pictures he saw in
his comic books. It wasn’t until he was a senior in high school that
his love of art began to take shape.
“I’ve only been painting for about seven years,” says Zachary. “It
brings me so much joy to create art that makes people feel happy
and touches them in a positive way. I just love it.” And while
Zachary doesn’t necessarily
have a favorite medium when
creating his paintings, the one
trend running through his art is
the lack of detail in the faces he
paints. “In portraits or murals, I
create on my own, I don’t paint
eyes, or noses, or mouths,”
he says. “I want people to see
themselves in the paintings, I
want them to make a personal
connection with the piece. If
it speaks to them, if it shows
someone achieving something
big and wonderful, I want the
person looking at the painting
to see themselves achieving
something big and wonderful,
too.”
As a Pittsburgh artist,
Zachary is inspired by all
the wonderful things that
make Pittsburgh the city it is:
bridges and tunnels, rivers and
inclines, sunsets and snowfall.
His art is reflective of the city
he appreciates. At the same
time, like everyone who lives in Pittsburgh and its surrounding
townships, when tragedy strikes, it may as well be in your
backyard.
Continued on next page >
WEST MIFFLIN
❘
WI NT E R 2019
13