ArtView March 2015 | Page 22

Ruth le Cheminant My Own Personal Terrain Ruth le Cheminant is a graduate of the National Art School, Sydney and the College Of Fine Art, University of NSW. She is a recognised artist who has exhibited in Australia and overseas. Her works have been acknowledged and published in several arts magazines locally and internationally. Ruth lives in the Blue Mountains in NSW, Australia and has worked professionally as an artist for over 20 years. Although Ruth’s work is considered abstract or contemporary her paintings are founded in the landscape. “I left Australia to travel overland to England in 1975. I wanted to experience other environments. At the time I felt my own was monotonous and without form. It was in returning that I came to realise this geography does not surrender itself easily to interpretation. To see this country – to allow it to show itself – requires an intimate eye, one that matures after returning to a place again and again. In doing so, the viewer becomes poised for moments of accidental discovery where beauty and meaning are revealed. “Unlike England, with its solid trees and arranged settings, the Australian landscape encouraged me to look through, rather than at. It seemed to stand in defiance of a fixed viewpoint. There was little attempt to appear polished or complete. “Seeing this country required me to dig into it, climb to different vantage points, and return again. Then suddenly a view would gift itself to me – impermanent in a seemingly permanent setting.” www.ruthlecheminant.com