KVM honoring local artist with memorial art show

If people are lucky in life, they leave an imprint in their community and create a legacy.

Claude Ruston Baker left his imprint all over the world, painting a legacy that will live on through his talent as an artist.

The man most people knew simply as “Rusty” passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, April 12 of this year at the age of 64.

In a life that ended far too soon, Rusty left his fingerprints all over the world, from his Killbuck community, throughout Holmes County in places like Historic Downtown Millersburg and West Holmes High School, throughout Ohio and even into Europe, where he shared not only his incredible gift to paint, but also his zeal for life with people.

Baker’s legacy will live on throughout his painting and in the memories of the people who knew him, whether it was for a short time or a lifetime.

Over Labor Day weekend Sept. 2-3, the Killbuck Valley Museum will present the Claude Ruston Baker Memorial Art Show, where much of Baker’s art and many pieces of memorabilia will be on display.

The show will be open during regular hours at the museum through the end of October, but the Memorial Day celebration that coincides with Early American Days should be something special, according to Bob Porter, museum board president.

“We wanted to come up with a way to honor Rusty that would really highlight his incredible life and his immense skills,” Porter said. “It’s going to be a neat way to share his life with people and to give them a glimpse into who Rusty was and what he meant to this community.”

Baker had a knack for taking a boring surface, whether it was the outside wall of a building or a blank wall, and turning it into something special, painting a picture that made people take note.

Baker began his artistic career as a youth in elementary school, and by high school, he found his artistic talents paying off, with students paying him to create art for a small fee that they could turn in for their projects.

By his mid-20s, Baker was gaining notoriety for his painting style and was commissioned to paint a mural commemorating 200 years of Morgan County’s history.

A new career had begun. Now Baker’s paintings can be seen all around Europe and in many small towns throughout Ohio.

“Rusty was such a beloved figure here in Holmes County that we sometimes forget that he was an accomplished artist on the international level,” Porter said.

Murals may have made his legacy, but he also became known for his unique style of painting he called “architectural illusion,” in which he painted bricks and blocks that looked so real many people would never know they were a painting. An unsuspecting passerby might never notice the architecture they were looking at wasn’t real.

In 2005 Baker began a passion project on his own barn that saw him paint countless famous musicians on and in his barn. Soon The Beetles, Elvis, Beethoven, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Dolly Parton and many other music icons adorned his barn and his studio.

Baker was one of those rare people who found his gift in life at an early age and lived his years doing what he loved to do best, and that was paint. Well, paint and provide joy to those he met through his painting and his easy-going style of conversation that drew so many people to him.

“He had this incredible gift, and yet he was so approachable and easy to talk to. He would talk to anyone,” Porter said. “He had this unique way of making people feel right at home around him, and that’s what we want to share with people through this exhibit, through not only his paintings, but photos and other memorabilia from his life.”

The man everyone called Rusty had a passion to paint, and his legacy lives on through his creative mind, his keen eye for style and flair, and for the joy his work continues to bring to so many.

The Killbuck Valley Museum is located on Front Street in Killbuck and is open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.