BOBBI BALDWIN
Fine Art
Artist's Statement
Bobbi Marie Baldwin (b. 1958-)
My life as an artist was created by divine intervention.
I have no doubt.
It started far before I started drawing.
My home life created a hyper vigilant personality
who needed to see how things were put together, perceived, aligned, etc. My need
to escape into my zone while creating was predestined by the circumstances of my
youth.
The tools I learned created the focus I chose in
controlling my environment through my creations.
It took me many years to learn about all of this,
and I have to say that 66 years isn’t nearly enough to really understand all
that art stands for in personality, coping skills, imagination, society, and
everything that it touches.
It has been my goal since I discovered that I could draw
at the age of 9 to really understand how everything is put together, including
the science of color, light & shadow and techniques.
I inherited an engineer’s mind.
I have had a desire to understand people more than
anything else.
So, it is appropriate that I started with
portraits.
I am a portrait artist and have been since day 1 of my
learning.
From the age of 9 my subjects were always people, until
1996 when I traveled with a very talented group of American artists to Russia
and did my first work ‘en plein air.
Throughout my 40 years of teaching, I have painted over
950 paintings.
I painted 100 percent portraits until 1995,
learning from the American Society of Portrait Artist seminar artists, and then
the Portrait Society of America Seminars back east. I started a non-profit
portrait society called the West Coast Society of Portrait Artists in 1995,
creating national shows.
I owned a cooperative gallery in old town Fair
Oaks, called Baldwin Gallery from 2997-2001.
I brought several nationally known portrait
artists here to teach my students during that time. It was a wonderful
experience.
I loved my artists.
I became a full time artist at 30 years of age but
started teaching at 26.
I have learned so much through the eyes of my
students.
I am ever so thankful for their continual unique and
repetitive questions! It’s those questions that make me rethink my ideas
continually and grow.
They say that “you are only as good as the miles
of canvas/paper that you cover.”
Some are on their first 100 feet and others are on
their second mile.
I try to instill the idea that every artist has
their own style.
So, look for their strengths as I do and enjoy
each and every artwork created by my “artists”.
My largest portrait client is Shingle Springs Miwok Band,
the owners of Red Hawk Casino.
I don’t show their tribal elder portraits
publicly, for their privacy.
I have painted 27 formal portraits of their Tribal
Elders over the last 2 decades.
Bobbi Baldwin
is a versatile painter who works mostly in oil, soft pastel, and bronze.
Her plein air paintings are both figurative and expressive, while her portrait and still
life work are completely lifelike in a romantic realism. The portraits are
meticulously created with the clear and deep feeling of life exuding from every
detail and stroke. The paintings reminiscent of Renoir or Sargent are both
vibrant and strong in color and composition.
Bobbi is originally from southern
California, where her parents were born and raised, her father a computer
engineer from the early days of computing. During her early years the
family moved to 7 states and then settled in the Sacramento region of northern
California. The influence of the world through travel started in those
early days as she visited nearly every state in the US, later to see many other
countries and cultures. Although her childhood was abusive, it gave her
the ability to look at life through eyes that were wise with great depth of
thinking concerning how every aspect of life fits together.
It gave her a passionate appreciation for the
beautiful moments individuals often forget to stop and see, furthermore the
larger picture that each unique character brings to this world.
With great epiphanies of awareness, collectors become
enthralled with her technical insights to create with two different methods
ranging from the layering of an under painted, grisaille & bistre (dating back
to Renaissance painters) and the method of painting directly on canvas pushing
the strength of brilliant, beautiful color. Progression towards
illuminating vibrancy in color has been a drive in Bobbi’s work as well as
creating a feeling of motion and movement. The depth and brilliant colors
are achieved through layering, glazes of thick painting medium added throughout
the process, encasing the pigments, and creating a three-dimensional illusion.
This method causes the light to travel through the layers to the surface below,
bounce off the white primer, and then refract against the encased pigments,
producing a strong lifelike shape. It is impossible to see in photos this
gorgeous effect in photos.
Bobbi’s paintings of horses, people,
and still lives come from a deeply felt reverence that Bobbi has with her
subjects. She feels subjects on a level which she is capable of sharing.
With her portraits, you will become mesmerized by the eloquence, in love with
every element, and intimate with the subject from the deep sense of reality seen
in the eyes and features. Her strengths are in her masterful brush
strokes, knowledge of color theory, and sensational composition.
Her portraits will take your breath away; you truly
feel like the subject is with you as well as leaving you with a peaceful
feeling.
Drawing upon her 43 years of
experience in commission portraits as well as over 40 years of teaching, Bobbi
is capable of making her subjects look and feel as if they will turn at any
moment and speak to you. Her ability to capture the true nature of a character
is unmatched.
Bobbi generously supports several
charitable organizations, such as WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment),
CAP (Child Abuse Prevention center), and Neigh Saver’s Foundation (Race horse
rescue, rehabilitation).
Portrait Work Figurative Work Animal & Pet Portraits Still Life Work Study Work & Alla Prima Landscape & World Travel Sculpture Work
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