Russell Maddick splits his time between rural western Pennsylvania and Bonita Springs, Florida.

He doesn’t paint traditional landscapes, but what he paints is influenced by where he paints.

Those two locales and Chicago, where he also lived, shaped the work featured in “Visions of a Changing Landscape,” which opens Sunday at the Butler Institute of American Art.

Maddick is no stranger to Mahoning Valley arts patrons. In addition to teaching for 33 years at Youngstown State University, Maddick had four previous solo exhibitions at the Butler and a one-man show at its former Trumbull branch. His work also appeared frequently in the Area Artists Annual and has been included in its National Midyear exhibition.

Maddick was included in numerous shows at the McDonough Museum of Art, including its inaugural exhibition in 1991 and a solo exhibition the following year.

Maddick was invited to participate in last year’s Midyear at the Butler, and the idea for another solo show was broached at that time.

“Visions of a Changing Landscape” features work created in the last 15 years.

“I’ve been working with abstract situations that are really based on a response to energy that exists around me,” Maddick said. “Of course, during that time in Chicago, it was a strong urban energy. I’ve also lived in the last 10 years or so, part of the time in western Pennsylvania, in the country, and the winters in Florida. So I’ve had a lot of complex and interesting phenomena around me in terms of vegetation, light and water, and a lot of the work is connected with that. And then the most recent work has to do with the existence of a climate change that’s occurring, and a number of the paintings are in direct response to that.”

Maddick started teaching in Youngstown in 1966 when the college still was a private institution (it became Youngstown State University the following year). Not only has the Butler played a major role in Maddick’s artistic career, it was a valuable asset when he was a professor.

“It was terribly important, because when I was teaching studio classes in drawing and painting, I would always bring my students across the street and talk to them about different periods of painting that occurred and the actual painting process that these artists were involved in,” Maddick said. “It was absolutely essential for me. And it’s interesting that many teachers, I don’t think, really took advantage of that.”

“Visions of a Changing Landscape” will be on display through June 29, and Maddick will attend a meet-the-artist reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

If you go …

WHAT: “Russell Maddick: Visions of a Changing Landscape”

WHEN: Sunday through June 29 with meet-the-artist reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Butler Institute of American Art, 524 Wick Ave., Youngstown

HOW MUCH: Admission is free. For more information, go to www.butlerart.com or call 330-743-1107.