All my work begins with observing and focusing on nature. I spend a lot of time plein air painting when I can and this allows me to get connected, engaged and also prepares me for the deeper work I do in my studio. This past year I kept coming back to the idea of boundaries, a real or imagined line that marks the limits of something. My work has always had this underlying compositional scaffold or grid that holds even my more minimal pieces. The structure started to emerge; shapes appeared and disappeared while linear elements sometimes disturbed the otherwise quiet expanses of color. In addition to the painting, I was also working in assemblage, collage and building structures that deploy color. I am intrigued how a minimalist geometry or organic form can trap color but then allow it to disperse.
Color interaction is still a primary focus. Color can both invigorate and subdue. I’m most interested in what one color does to another, even on a fairly monochromatic field.
Leslie Baker 2019