The View from The Window

How do we use our eyes? I use mine to see outside myself, to gather information, to observe

images of happiness, sorrow, danger, delight and more. Using my anthropomorphic

imagination, I pretend our homes use their windows the same way! I’ve always thought windows and their views were one of the most important aspects of a home. During my childhood InSide the Back Mountain, a large living room picture window enjoyed a magnificent vista as far as Bald Mountain with Scranton just on the other side! Various windows in my college years narrow-mindedly scanned campus lawns and buildings, no further. Apartment complex windows in our early marriage years afforded even fewer views! Years later we lived in a home with windows that inspired subjects for many paintings. It was an old house that still had the old-fashioned wavy glass with a few bubbles embedded in one of the panels of its old 12-light kitchen windows. Many days I sat at that kitchen table, “land-surfing” my back yard through that pane of glass. It abstracted the view! The landscape changed as my position changed. Why didn’t I take photos of that phenomenon before I moved away? 

Some people, when looking out their windows, are aghast at the dust on the inside and outside surfaces. Others, like me, look through the dust at the view beyond. I don't notice dirt, fingerprints, or occasional bird droppings that mar the view for others! While my husband nearly always cleans his glasses several times a day, I am continually amazed at the multiple spots that appear on my own every week or two as I wear them every waking hour! I'm not lazy. I simply look through, look beyond!

Sailing in My Dreams

One kitchen window in our present home belongs to our 9 1/2 year old SPCA rescue tuxedo cat, Michael-Angelo. On sunny mornings the southeastern sun warms his black fur. He basks on a small table set against the window sill, watching walkers, birds, and passing cars. Windows are wonderful things! They allow us to see out and they allow light and warmth to enter.

My current front window view looks out on a very busy street. Rather than just the street, I painted the scene focused on the small sailboats perched in the window. On our numerous trips Downeast to coastal Maine through the years, I always admired homes with sailboats displayed in their front windows. The sailboats depicted in my watercolor painting titled “Sailing in My Dreams” were purchased on our trips, so this painting combines my landlocked life here in my beloved Back Mountain with many warm and wonderful vacation memories of coastal Maine!

The Forgotten Book

I recently completed a watercolor painting of a view from an old farmhouse window created from a photo I snapped four decades ago. The land and buildings were rundown and, sadly, no longer a viable farm. Back when I sketched, painted, and photographed its acreage, the old homestead was owned by an artist acquaintance of mine who had purchased it as a vacation home and hunting cabin for her family. I explored the old stone and wood barn with its hex signs and the outbuildings that appeared around the homestead, some in solid stone and others built with thick wooden planks of first-growth timbers. While rummaging through my desk drawer a few months ago, I found a photo I had taken from an upstairs bedroom window of that old farmhouse and knew it was time to paint “The Forgotten Book.” I wonder who slept up there in that old iron bed with its thin chenille bedspread. A fireplace joined a large central chimney. Were they warm? Were they happy? Did they dream?

Spirit of Remembrance

I was 11 years old when I began my official art journey with my very first official art lesson with Mrs. Dorothy Brace Barber of Wyoming. She instilled in my soul a love of art and history that has never waned! About 1959, Mrs. Barber, my mom, and I drove down Wyoming Avenue to the Forty Fort Meeting House to spend the day. Mrs. Barber introduced a challenging art trifecta: on-site painting, three-point linear perspective above eye level, and my new medium of oil paints! I worked from the upstairs balcony, looking down on the pulpit. I still cherish that not-so-good painting! My recent watercolor depicts sunlight flooding into the historic Meeting House and the steps leading up to the balcony which is now roped off. This painting embodies my “Spirit of Remembrance.” Windows are wonderful things! What window in your past or present offered your favorite view?

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This article originally appeared in the March 2026 publication of InSide the Back Mountain.