Speculation On Nature:
Lawrence Baker
Frame Shop Gallery
August 6–October 15, 2007

An artist for over 40 years, Lawrence Baker has recently undertaken a shift in both medium and subject matter. Perhaps best known for his large paintings concentrating on the human figure, Baker now turns his hand to landscape drawing. In doing so his goal is to sound out the depths of a more limited medium. And he has faith that drawing has a lot to offer: “Some people see a drawing as an idea, like an idea for a painting. I see a drawing as an idea that can be completed, a complete entity in itself.”

Contrary to the common idea of landscape as a large expanse, many of Baker’s drawings deal with an area spanning only eight to ten feet. Empty of people, the works have a mood of loneliness, an almost eerie feeling about them. The small scale gives the drawings a certain introverted and understated aspect. At the same time one is drawn into the scene; one has the feeling of kneeling down in the grass to take a close look at the ground beneath. While the drawings are a close examination of nature, Baker is careful not to overwhelm the drawing with surface detail; he strives to leave room for the viewer to enter, and to keep his or her way clear of obstruction. He says, “I like to give a drawing some air.”

Although these drawings are the result of close observation, the artist’s goal is not a photographic likeness of the scene. In order to build up volumes, light and shadow, and to show texture, he uses what he sometimes refers to as “stylized marks.” From very close up, they look like miniature abstract designs, and were actually inspired by Baker’s study of the brushstrokes of Van Gogh. In a sense, Baker’s “stylized marks” are a re-imagining of Van Gogh’s expressionistic brushwork in pencil. In drawing, for example, an oak leaf, Baker would devise a mark that conveys the essence of the leaf as he sees it, and then use these characteristic marks to build up the larger form of the leaf. Devising these marks and thinking about the essences of his growing and decaying subject matter is the speculative aspect of Speculation on Nature.

Baker hopes to draw people into his landscapes, to possibly show them something they would otherwise have overlooked. As for the artist himself, these days he is paying closer attention than ever to these often overlooked details. “Even looking at movies, I’m really into the background. I’ll be thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a beautiful shape,” said Baker.

An artist’s reception for Lawrence Baker
will be held during Gallery Night,
Friday, August 24, from 7–10 p.m.