Article: Art embraces special moments, places in outdoors";
By Doug Draper
Arts & Entertainment
Feb 08, 2008
This past Tuesday, on a damp, gray, foggy morning when many Niagara residents would probably prefer to spend a little more time in bed, Jacqueline Baldini was eager to head out to the countryside to capture the mood of the day on canvas."I am looking out there," said the Niagara artist at her studio on Lundy's Lane in Niagara Falls, "and going 'Wow, look at that.'
"Those "wow" moments, when Baldini is full of passion for the light and colour a day can bring -- regardless of the weather or the time of year -- has fueled her art for more than 30 years and has earned her the respect of other artists, nationally and internationally, for her ability to produce works embracing special moments and places in the outdoors."I don't want a perfect world," said Baldini in a studio with walls full of paintings of the Niagara Falls area, including the rapids of the famous river and its cataract, and of other regions of Niagara and the rest of the world, including Portugal, Spain, the Bahamas, Honduras and Yucatan.
"If all we had were all blue skies and sunshine, that would be boring."Baldini is offering everyone from beginners to those will some experience in applying oil paints to canvas anything but a boring time at a workshop she is hosting at the Lundy's Lane studio this Sunday.
That workshop, called Day in an Artist's Studio, runs this Sunday, Feb. 10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with coffee and Danish treats in the morning, a lunch and all materials, including canvas and paints provided, for a fee of $65."I am asked frequently to do weekly lessons at my studio," Baldini said. "I made the decision a few years ago, that people learn and absorb much faster when completely immersed in a project."As a host and mentor at the workshops, Baldini said she always finds them as rewarding as those who attend hopefully do. Often from someone who is just starting out in art, she said, she is reminded of the virtues of keeping things simple in some of her own work."I've had complete beginners in my classes," she said, "and I have learned from them."
Baldini's approach to art is something she said is described as "Plein Air Artist" or one who chooses to paint from life outdoors. "This often means painting in the fog, mist or frozen landscape of this beautiful peninsula," she explained. "Plein Air Painting is a metaphysical skill capable of creating an image that lets the viewer 'be there in the moment' when viewing the painting."An upper New York State native before moving to Niagara Falls more than thirteen years ago, Baldini is the founder and signature member of International Plein Air Painters (an organization of artists dedicated to producing painting of moving outdoor settings around the world) and in 2002 established the first Worldwide Paint Out, that brings groups of artists together through the internet each year to share their work.
Her paintings hang in private and public collections across Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. To obtain more information on this Sunday's Day in an Artist's Studio Workshop or to register for the workshop no later than this Saturday,
