Robin Jones: The Mother Tree

Robin Jones

Can You Hear the Thunder (detail)

Oil and gold leaf on cradled wood panel

30" h x 24" w

ROBIN JONES

The Mother Tree

If an artist can create paintings reflective of the present moment yet directed to the future, then that artist has reached a kind of immortality. Robin Jones is that artist, an intuitive creative and self-named activist whose paintings reflect her deepest sensibilities and compassion for the natural world, as well as her concerns for the welfare of the planet.

In this remarkable collection of oil paintings aptly titled “The Mother Tree, (inspired by a memoir by author Suzanne Simard), the reference couldn’t be more precise. It is widely understood that the great forests of our country all began with an original host; that very first tree whose roots, spores and living energy spread from old growth to new, creating a living web of interconnectedness. Within that web is a community committed to survival and cooperation, an apt metaphor for our own evolution.

How this message manifests is the secret behind Jones’ evocative subject matter; fantastical, almost mythological images that ask us to forego any doubt or assumption. For in the innocent

On the Cover Freedom Mandala (detail) Oil and gold leaf on cradled wood panel, 36" h x 36" w

faces of the world’s children hesitant, pensive, questioning faces filled with hope and uncertainty, we are confronted with our own responsibility for their survival. Around them fly the graceful, winged denizens of the air; dragonflies, butterflies, and birds of every description, like messengers from above, reminding them and us of the children’s connection to the environment. An occasional smiling face erupts in celebratory joy, confirming that all children are an integral part of this magical realm. And yet, we are reminded that this precious world, like their very childhood, is fleeting.

Jones’ talent as a portraitist is unquestionable. Self-taught, her skill is the product of years of training and experimentation, coaxing the most out of her chosen medium; maximizing oil paint’s translucency, sheen and depth of color. Whether utilizing cradled wood board or the slick surface of aluminum, many paintings seem to glow. They recall medieval icons surrounded by halos of gold, suffused with spirituality. Jones understands the power of applied gold leaf, the use of which lends a sacred quality to her work. As someone who reveres Buddhist philosophy, she further enhances select images with the enduring symbology of the mandala, a circular motif representing life and eternity. The longer one looks, the more Jones’ paintings have to say. It is finally up to us to listen and hopefully, respond.