Jenny Rubio

“We hardly know life, we know so little of its foundation, and besides, we are living in a period in which everybody seems to be talking raving nonsense, and everything seems to be in a tottering state, so that it cannot be called being unhappy if we have found a duty that forces us to remain quietly in our corner, busy with our modest work…   In the days we are living through, one runs the risk of returning from a battle ashamed for having fought a battle.”

To his sister Wilhelmina.

This snippet came from a 1984 calendar journal from The Metropolitan Museum of Art,  dug from the recycling bin.. so I am not sure the exact date on this.

“An idea is a point of departure and no more. As soon as you elaborate it, it becomes transformed by thought. ” -Pablo Picasso

STUFF that makes me happy…pink flamingos.

Art takes what you can´t see (feelings, experiences,cool stuff, etc.) and makes it visible to you and the world, this is where the artist gets to have fun!

click on flamingo to see my work on rubags.net

By years of eliminating the unnecessary , I have contained my creativity to a cardboard box...complete with handy duct tape straps.

It´s okay to be crafty! Wherever there is an opportunity for something creative to happen we all need to seize the moment. For me that creative opportunity cannot be narrowed down to a single word, media or act of doing.

I have been moving around a lot the past five years.  Essentially I have been living in and out of, and again, in and out of boxes and more boxes. Got it? No, I do not use cardboard as a permanent shelter but I have enough stored away just in case. And yes, most of you do not find this half as interesting as I do. But varied locations have had important and varied impact on my art.

Location, location,location (See painting with same title below) has a lot to do with the art I create. But in all locations in which I have lived I have continued to (consciously and unconsciously) develop the style and content (and function) of my work.

It also has become increasingly important for me to be able to create whenever the whim strikes. I like to be mobile so my art has to change with me, and work for me.  Something comes to mind when I need a cool way to get my art on-the-go. The Rubag! Check it!

Please enjoy my site and you are in the right location!

The Greengrocer,2001 acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24.

“…But this is what remains- a painter is a person who paints, in the same way that a florist is in reality a person who loves plants and grows them himself, which is not done by the flower merchant.”

-Vincent to his sister Wilhelmina

I read the article Gauguin´s Gambit this morning in my Smithsonian. Gauguin lived with van Gogh for a while. What I like about Gauguin was his bold confidence in himself. He was a little over the top for most, and voiced that his art was too good to be copied by anyone. Vincent and Paul did not get along. Niether man was ever “famous” when they lived. But as I delve into my history books, trying to make up for lost lessons in college, I always end up excited to learn more about the greats that came before, and how their juicy “celebrity” lives are more interesting than ever.

March 2011, pg. 70 smithsonian.com

July ´08 custom canvas

This 8″ x 8″ canvas is one of a 3 part series I made custom for an Ohio client (a.k.a my mom).  Making multiple smaller paintings gives you the freedom to create a bigger idea slowly. You can mix and match and change it up if you get sick of it.

The artist is the collector of ideas, for me the challenge is to package those ideas in the space available.

Go ahead look around. Let me know how it looks. Feel free to critique.

Just practicing with my site.  Sometimes I feel so behind the times.