Outside My Window

Jacqueline Ruben

Outside My Window

Oil on Canvas

36"x12"x1 3/4" inches

2021

$500

I’m fortunate to be able to gaze at  tall majestic trees with their overreaching branches outside of my window.  During this shelter-in-place phase I observed and drew all sorts of contour lines  of the landscape as a means of staying focused and centered. Over time these drawings  developed into a non-representative painting.  Remember that day with the fires that were burning up forests and the daylight was blocked by smoke and a grim orange overlay of color?   The memory of that sky seeps downward from the top.

“We only have in this life what we notice.”  This quotation by a Zen Buddhist student guides my journey of painting the natural world.  Reflective walking encourages stillness as a means to observe the elements of the natural world, such as the passage of light and clouds, where water meets the terrain’s edge, or the angles and curves of tree branches. Listening to news reports and seeing images of distressed landscapes create a tension between the beauty of painted surfaces with the image.  Yet, I keep returning to the landscape as a sustaining source for personal encouragement and engagement in the larger world.

What would I like my art to express?  An encouragement to listen deeply to the natural world so that we may appreciate its beauty and respond with thoughtful action to the events swirling around us.