ARTIST STATEMENT

All my work is painted from direct observation. My strongest impluses have consistently been rooted in the physical world. These impulses must prove themselves by showing up in my memory, reappearing subconsciously; the physical tethered to the conceptual.

Starting with the earliest landscapes, I wanted to create compositions with the strength to hold the eye and one’s attention. That concern remains constant. Like the hunt for a needle in a haystack, I am careful to keep myself poised and attentive for the discovery of compelling and relevant subject matter quietly hidden in the corners of everyday life. The paintings progress like the construction of a house, one stick at a time, fueled by the need to create a visual dwelling for my own contemplation. Like a vessel, it is the space created by the structure that is most important.

I paint with a relentless conviction to make tangible every aspect of my subject. The surface quality and subtlety of detail, density and space, all revealed by the feel of the light. My palette is limited to ten basic colors and does not include black. I use the paint thick and pasty right out of the tube. While not apparent in reproduction, there are several layers of this undiluted paint. My compulsion is to create a density of surface presence that cannot be denied. As time passes, I am ever more vigilant to keep my focus to include only what gets at the point of interest. And under all this, the image must work abstractly. Take away the recognizable and that is what holds it all together.

I do believe there is something sacred and enduring in this disciplined act of truthfulness. Somewhere in the process of painting, a magical threshold gets crossed. I am aware as my hand reaches across an invisible line into a timeless place and I am transported to another state of being.

- Sandra Mendelsohn Rubin

....................