Much of Ken Matsubara’s work plays with the techniques and styles found throughout Japanese art history, and this colossal piece, a part of his series simply entitled, “Scenery,” is no exception. This painting harkens to the Suiboku paintings of Japan’s Muromachi period, with its broad, dripping strokes nearly crossing into illegibility, asking us to press forward through the abstraction to the scenic beauty captured by the brush. What we come to see is a tranquil, almost meditative cliffside, symmetrically framing a misty waterfall, or perhaps a sea of trees shading a foggy woodland path. It is said that a kind of 'store consciousness,' what is known in Buddhism as alaya-vijnana, exists in the heart of all human beings. - Ken Matsubara Matsubara's exploration with nature throughout the lands of Japan gave him an opportunity to become involved with tea ceremonies. As a result, he was able to truly understand nature's true scenery is created by water. He believes that scenery is born when mental images and reality are combined.