As a budding artist, Doylestown’s Ilene Rubin painted things. Yes, she captured objects on canvas. But she also painted things, as in her parents’ mailbox, her closet doors, and a massive mural in a college dorm room. Michele Malinchak reported on her latest passion, landscapes, for Bucks County Magazine.

Her talent earned early recognition. As a child, she entered a drawing contest run by a local newspaper. Her entry won her a sketch pad, further feeding her artistic side.

A 2007 career stall took Rubin’s talent to a new level. With extra spare time, she enrolled in a formal class. Her comfort with different media evolved from acrylics to pastels to watercolors to oils.

Her husband, Mitch, was an early fan and supporter.

“When he gave me the first set of paints, his knowing comment was, ‘See what you can do with these.’ That made all the difference in taking me from a place where I doodled on walls and radiators and challenged me to put my creative energy onto canvas.”

Rubin’s subject of choice became landscapes. She sees herself as a conduit for their preservation, as development and industry continue to chip away at open spaces, including those in Bucks County.

“I want to feel that I’m there in the painting and that others can walk into it even if the place is no longer there. Almost like a dream,” she said.

She doesn’t paint with her eyes so much as her heart.

“Art is an emotional response,” she said. “Every painting is a love affair.”

More on Rubin’s story is at Bucks County Magazine.

Her online gallery is also worth perusing.