Staff photo / Daniel Newman ... Professional watercolorist and co-owner of the SOAP Gallery Daniel Rauschenbach stands next to some of his paintings for sale in his studio at 171 Bridge St. in downtown Struthers. Rauschenbach, a Valley native, is planning to open the SAGE Gallery.

STRUTHERS — It takes about 45 minutes for a professional artist from the Mahoning Valley to paint a “smaller” detailed portrait of a bird on an 11×15-inch canvas.

The same artist said it’s also taken him about 15 years to begin opening his own studio at 171 Bridge St. in Struthers, which he considers a part of Youngstown.

“Once a month I’ll do an opening here,” said 36-year-old watercolorist Daniel Rauschenbach. “And use the upstairs as my actual ceramics studio, my painting studio, all in one space. I’ll be able to put the sign up that says ‘out to the post for two weeks to go paint.'”

Rauschenbach, given the Creative Ohio: 2023 Artist Champion Award, explained that he is most proud of coming from the Youngstown area, as he frequently travels for inspiration.

“I’m happy to say that the shows are going on around the country right now,” the Rauschenbach Studio owner reflected. “And with the different parts, festivals, or residencies that are up and coming, it’s neat to say ‘I can leave this stuff in the Mahoning Valley and know that home is where home is.'”

As a professional painter for over 15 years, Rauschenbach’s art and creative process have made their way to Europe, New York City, Boston, Maine and many other locations.

“It’s really not like you’re a big fish in a small pond,” he said about being an artist from the Valley. “It’s more like you’re a fish out of water.”

AT HOME

Before co-owning and curating the SOAP Gallery in Downtown Youngstown, or teaching Students Motivated by the Arts (SMARTS) K-8 students from the South Side, Rauschenbach spent six years at Youngstown State University, eventually earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts with focus in Spatial Arts in 2012.

“I love teaching on the South Side of Youngstown,” said Rauschenbach, whose grandfather was a Latin teacher at Chaney High School. “If I’m going to teach, that’s where I’m going to do it.”

Rauschenbach, a 2006 Struthers High School graduate, said the area needs different ways to express itself. “I think the most creative individuals I have ever met are my kids who live in the heart of the South Side,” he said. “No one else in the country can compare.”

While in college, Rauschenbach also contributed to the YSU men’s basketball team as an assistant manager to the coaching staff and director of operations.

A program that he once studied at YSU, American Studies, with a focus on Youngstown, was recently cut from YSU’s course list.

“I think YSU offers some of the greatest opportunities that many of the universities in the state of Ohio and on the East Coast can offer,” Rauschenbach admitted. “But I think right now, when it comes to the arts, people forget that it’s really hard to be a creative and make money. I think what YSU didn’t get is that outlet to figure out what jobs there are.”

Rauschenbach, however, found his work appreciated after several years of “just doing the work.” The cost for his first piece he sold when he was 21 was “$500 and a case of Malbec.”

As the oldest of three, Rauschenbach said his brother Eric, who secured him the studio building, makes the best furniture out of anyone he knows. And the youngest, Tim, a Campbell police officer, is the most creative of the brothers.

Rauschenbach said he loves to travel, but always wants to have a place to live in Youngstown.

He joked that he is a “wedding soup artist,” referencing the food to its Youngstown popularity. “I’m an American expressionist. But it’s hard to be from here, and not be a whole bunch of different styles. I’m always trying to take in my surroundings, and I understand or take in more by painting when I’m talking or doing something somewhere.”

Rauschenbach further explained, “Youngstown can be bleak. But that is why Youngstown is the best palate cleanser. You create the best stuff from here because there are no distractions. We have our food, festivals, and I think our people are the best.”

WHEN IN MAINE

While in school, Rauschenbach began working at Tripp Lake Camp in Poland, Maine, as an arts and crafts instructor. “I have now spent at least half of the year in Maine ever since,” he said.

He and his wife of five years, Emily, met through two of his mentors, Jason Van Hoose and Chris Yambar. “Emily was painting the walls in Jacob Harver’s space in the Lemon Grove, now the Federal Building.”

Rauschenbach said the late Chris Yambar, once a writer for the Simpsons, Tony Armini, Eric Alleman, and Christopher Leeper were his greatest Youngstown-based mentors in the industry when he was a student. His first exhibit, at 18-years-old, was held with Yambar and Leeper.

Another fun fact, he and Emily had their first date at a Maple Turner show. Turner is also a well-known Youngstown-based artist.

As his wife still teaches at Tripp Lake Camp in Maine, Rauschenbach said he’s spent time sleeping in a tent and painting along the coast of Lubec, Maine — the last city on state Route 1.

“A lot of famous artists go to this place because there’s nothing there,” Rauschenbach said. “So to get a cup of coffee, you have to drive an hour and a half. Nothing’s around, and it’s amazing because you’re on this beach that people should be sunbathing on, and there’s no one there.”

AFFORDABLE ART

Some of Rauschenbach’s students have questioned him, asking, “When do you not do something?”

He answers, “I get done at work, usually at 3:15 p.m. Then from 3:15 to about 5 p.m I’ll usually eat and then take a nap, and then it’s straight to painting. I’ll probably do an additional 40 to 50 hours per week of just studio time.”

A member of the Youngstown Flea, he said the organization begins its annual vendor event on Feb. 10.

“Starting the first weekend of April, through Christmas, every weekend I’ll do an art festival somewhere on the east coast,” Rauschenbach said. “So I’m always constantly painting. I’m happy to say that the majority of my money is now coming from my artwork.”

As a “man of art,” Rauschenbach, also assists in hanging others’ artwork for shows in which he may not present his own work.

“I think I’m at 180 shows that aren’t my shows. That’s me hanging 180 other people’s art. Everyone forgets that there’s so many opportunities that aren’t just a direct route.”

About others who may not have to experience as much before “flying on their own,” Rauschenbach asks “what’s the fun in that?”

“It’s just taken a long time,” Rauschenbach said. “People are always scared to ‘sell out,’ but it’s not selling out when you’re making an income that allows you to keep going. This past year I think I’ve painted 425 birds that I can sell at $35 a pop.”

He continued, “People have asked me ‘why do you sell pieces at $25, $35, $50 and $100 ?’ I said it’s because art needs to be available to everyone.”

When someone questions the difference in prices, he explained that the amount of time spent working on certain pieces will determine the final judgment on charging for pieces.

Throughout the last year, combining his paintings with pottery, ceramics and other art, Rauschenbach created more than 1,000 original pieces.

He further added it involves making sure that everyone has the ability to diversify and have their own style.

“On the other hand,” he said, “You have to know what you’re worth, so when you have that piece that’s $35, you need to know that at one point there is going to be the $12,000 painting that you make.”

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