JENNY BAILLIE :"Evolution Is Not a Theory"

Post date: Jun 11, 2015 7:23:3 PM

Originally from New Zealand,

I discovered Rossland 35 years ago seeking Powder, a small

town ambiance and a place to call “home”. I had already

explored a variety of career paths and figured that in the

West Kootenay I would find the next step. The landscape inspired me

to paint. After many workshops, courses and mistakes,

here I am still based in Rossland, painting and exploring.

When I began painting, my singular goal was to capture the

beauty of the natural world and to share it. A pretty picture was

sufficient, although I have never considered a realistic image as

particularly interesting.

My ambition now has morphed into something else. “Beauty” is

still an element, but I am more concerned with

making a comment. How best to do this is the practice of painting.

It is the all encompassing fascination and

challenge of the process, working with the paint and

the chosen surface with the hope

that the resulting image imparts something of

one’s original idea. Shape, colour, values and line dominate my approach.

The use of negative space is something I am trying to

incorporate. Eventually the act of painting is the crucial thing …

If one keeps at it, testing and playing with the possibilities, then it

is impossible not to grow and change, just as in life, and it

becomes evident that “Evolution Is Not a Theory”.