By Staff
GLENN - When he's not at his "day job" teaching art full time at Southwestern Michigan College, Dowagiac artist David Baker can be found in a 17-foot canoe on a nearby pond, working on his "plein-air" paintings.
Now he is back on land in his studio, to put the finishing touches on a new body of work for his upcoming solo exhibit, "Out of the Blue," July 1-24 at Vesuvius Gallery near Glenn.
The exhibition presents a suite of 18 oil paintings on panel and wood - six of which were created on the lagoon at Ox-Bow Summer School of Art in Saugatuck.
Baker focuses on water lilies, the sky, reflections, space and light in his paintings.
According to the show's curator, Kathy Catania, "David's work has a very spiritual quality about tit that transcends techniques and subject matter. His new work is also more surreal than in the past."
Baker considers his subject matter sacred and the act of paddling his canoe a Zen-like experience.
After paddling around for an hour or so to "quiet his soul," the right place to stop and begin a painting often presents itself.
Baker creates each painting in one sitting and can spend up to five hours at a time in his canoe.
All the imagery for a single piece, including both sky and water, are recorded at the same time.
The only finishing work done back in the studio consists of color adjustments, glazing and framing.
Baker takes his technical abilities in stride and instead chooses to focus on what he has yet to learn from the medium of oil painting.
From his artist's statement he says, "I do not consider these to be landscape paintings. While they are the result of intense observation, they are not strictly factual … I'm after a different kind of truth."
The public is invited to meet Baker at the artist's reception for "Out of the Blue" on Saturday, July 2, from 7 to 10 p.m.
The reception features the culinary creations of Christine Ferris.
Gallery hours are: Wednesdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. or by appointment by calling 269/227-3970. The gallery is also open on Monday, July 4, from 11 to 6.
Vesuvius is located in an 1866 Greek Revival farmhouse between South Haven and Saugatuck - one mil south of Glenn at 1173 Blue Star Highway.
Visit the Vesuvius Web site at www.vesuviusgallery.com.