Every morning before coming to the studio I walk my dog on the conservation land and breathe in the colors of the seasons. I take this back to the studio with me.

My explorations take place in acrylics, oils, watercolors, and mixed media collage. My love for Heard Farm, Pelham Island Road and all the beautiful conservation land in my hometown of Wayland, MA gives rise to landscape paintings that are influenced by every walk, hike or drive that uncovers endless possibilities for new paintings—a foggy morning, a mid-summer afternoon, an autumn sunset.

I begin most paintings with line. The drawing becomes the armature that searches for the architecture of the composition. Then comes 1 the blocking-in of big areas of color. I often go back to using line to push the composition further. It is a dance between line, color, and form, a kind of choreography.

Over the last five years, as I have expanded my travels, I have painted over 600 watercolors inspired by close places like my beloved Heard Farm, Crane Beach, Nantucket, and Cape Cod as well as journeys to New Zealand, Scandinavia, Greece, and Australia.

Working in the transparent medium of watercolor started as a response to being restricted to my house during the pandemic. Unexpectedly, it has had a profound influence on my large-scale acrylic paintings. I returned to the studio and began painting with liquid acrylics and softer brushes, working flat on a table, to enable me to create more fluid brush strokes. This inspiration came both from my experiences with watercolors and from watching my young grandchildren paint effortlessly with liquid tempera paints.

My Saxonville studio reflects my personality. It strikes a balance between serving as a creative sanctuary and as a meeting ground for artists to share our creative process. The space is filled with things that inspire my work: a library of art books, files filled with collage material, an abundance of art supplies, and always music, music, and more music. Many of my paintings are named for the music that I listen to while I paint.

I like to use the expression, “I’m painting to find out,” because each new work is an exploration to better understand color, composition, paint application, and expression.

Emily Jo Rubinfeld is an accomplished painter and photographer residing in Wayland, MA. She received her B.F.A. from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA where she majored in printmaking and art education. She is also a graduate of New York City’s LaGuardia High School of Music and Art—the “Fame” school.

Early in her career she taught art to high school students at the Arlington School at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA, and later was the art teacher at Loker Elementary School in Wayland, Massachusetts.

Emily started Artistic Photography, her own business, specializing in family events and in black-and-white portraiture. Today, her photography centers on capturing the material for her own artistic explorations.

For over 30 years, Emily has painted in her studio at Saxonville Studios in Framingham, MA producing a large body of work in acrylics, watercolors, oils, and mixed media. She served as President of the Wayland Arts Council and was one of the founders of Art Space in the Wayland Town Building.

Emily and her husband, Paul, have lived in Wayland since 1980 and have three married children and seven grandchildren. Her family is made complete by her beloved goldendoodle, Harry Potter (a.k.a. Hairy Pawter), and three granddoodles.