A few years after receiving her BFA Ms. Hodge headed to NYC and in her mid-20’s had a budding art career. While there she developed a unique style which she termed Multi-Dimensional Expressionism. Her technique was bold and expressive. Her subject matter was narrative, often figurative and layered with symbolism. Always working in series, Rita would sketch and paint the same subject matter repeatedly... until she could draw it blindfolded.
 

The main themes in the early work were: NYC, Lovers, Dancers, Chaos, and Ishtar on the Altar. The first four are self-explanatory. The Ishtar on the Altar series dealt with the struggles of being a woman in what was still very much a man’s world. It was nearly impossible for a young woman to find a gallery or representation back then, but Ms. Hodge had work accepted to a few group-exhibits and juried shows. It was a thrilling and prolific period in her career.
 

By the mid-80’s trauma had caught up with Ms. Hodge and her work became very dark and menacing. She would speak of having no control over her own hands. Turning away from the pain of making art she concentrated on healing herself through gardening and re-created herself as an award-winning Graphic Designer.
 

Eventually, Rita brought design and gardening together and returned to Texas and obtained a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture. Ms. Hodge started her own Landscape Design firm, RH Factor, in 2002.
 

Although building a new career and a business took most of her time and energy, Rita never stopped making art. The need to create would well up inside of her and she spent most vacations as stay-cations with a stack of art supplies. One of those stay-cations was the source of the Water Under the Bridge series. Another resulted in the Conflict series.

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Once her company was on stable footing, Rita began to phase art back into her life and by 2018 was again painting on a regular basis.

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Ms. Hodge’s recent work brings all of her life experiences together. The art is still bold and the graphic design influence is obvious. It is still narrative, layered and multidimensional. One still finds the lovers, dancers, altars, bridges, and cityscapes, but her visual vocabulary has expanded to include the forms and symbols of landscape design and nature. These new works are exciting, visually stimulating and thought-provoking.