PAINTINGS 1

by Karen Anne Baldauski

A sampling of Karen's works. Many of these paintings will be on exhibit at the ARTWORKSOFMAINE gallery this November, and many will be available for sale!

"Herring Gull Swooping Over Rugged Coast" won the Silver Medal ($750) out of 503 entries in the prestigious 2019 New England Watercolor Society's (NEWS) Exhibition, Portsmouth, NH.

The judge was Antonio Masi, president, American Watercolor Society. NFS

"Periwrinklers Racing The Tide" was juried into the 2020 NEWS National Open Exhibition and was purchased for $2400 at the prestigious New England Watercolor Society's gallery in the Plymouth Center For The Arts, Plymouth, Massachusetts.

"Winter Fox", acrylic on watercolor paper, 39x32 framed, shown in the prestigious New England Watercolor Society's 2021 New England Regional Juried Exhibition.

GULL PEERING DOWN, 30x24, acrylic on stretched canvas

"A fleet regatta way off shore is an exciting image; it is something that got filed away in my mind to find life again in memory brush strokes when a painting such as this one began to take shape. I “threw in” the sailboats at the last minute with as precise detail as I could remember.

Art for me is an expression of life experiences, many of them joyful, which somehow may connect

with others who have also appreciated certain beauty."

REGATTA, 15.75 x 25 unframed size, acrylic on 140 lb watercolor paper, $2400. This new painting is available for sale at the New England Watercolor Society's juried North American Exhibition from November 2-December 3. "Regatta" was recently juried into the highly competitive New England Watercolor (NEWS) 2022 North American Exhibition. The juror is Soon Y. Warren. Only 85 out of a total of 435 paintings were selected and will be on display at the NEWS gallery in Plymouth, MA. Karen has gained NEWS "Signature" status. Contact newenglandwatercolorsociety.org for more information.

RED BUOY, 14x11, acrylic on canvasboard, framed.

Lift Off From Tide Pool, 16x20, acrylic on stretched canvas

Harbor Seal Resting On Ledge, 12x16, acrylic on canvasboard

Whales are one of Karen's favorite subjects.

This small painting is in the possession of a collector, 2022.

Karen Anne Baldauski has been
painting throughout life and has lived in Maine since 1978. Here she is seen in her Manchester, Maine barn studio before moving to Lubec in 2007.

"By The Sea", 20x16, acrylic on stretched canvas. Expressive abstracts relate to the sea environment where Karen lives year round.

"Grey Seas Under, Heading Home", 36x24, acrylic on canvas. The sea in all its moods poses constant risks to the commercial fishermen.

"Edge Of The Sea", 24x36, acrylic on stretched canvas.

Karen lives surrounded by the sea. She paints subjects she knows and loves. She has been winning prizes since her first national painting competition where she earned first prize for her oil painting, "Hope", while still in college.

Gull Landing, 36x24, acrylic on stretched canvas

Three Gulls, Tide Pool, 36x24 acrylic on stretched canvas.

Spring Lambs, 36x24, acrylic on canvasboard

"Gull Swooping Along Shore", 36x24,

"Fisherman & Dory, It'sTime To Go!", 36x24, acrylic on stretched canvas.

Sea Spilling in Pool, 24x36, acylic on canvasboard

Gull Peering Down, 30x24, acrylic on stretched canvas

36x24, Loon: BIRTH

"TIde Filling In", 24x36

"Herring Gull, Fisherman On Wharf", 36x24

"Whale, Grand Manan Distant", 36x24, in possession of private collector

Minke Whale Tail Awash, NFS, Artist's Collection

Gull Lifting Off Crashing Sea, 30x22, acrylic on paper

Whale, Crystalline Sea, 20x16, acrylic on stretched canvas

"Deerfield", serigraph, 46/50, matted & framed, from a series of 7 designs Karen created during the first month Karen arrived in Maine, 1978. "Raspberrying", "By The Sea", "Violets", and "Irises" are the other prints created in a frenzy of happiness for having moved to Maine. She worked in a horse stall, no water, no electricity, just one window for light! The serigraphs were sold through the Maine Art Gallery in Wiscasset.

"Violets", serigraph, 7/19, matted & framed.

"Taking A Nap" is one of hundreds of figurative paintings and drawings Karen has created since 1981. Using just a brush to create line drawings is an exciting process that demands full attention and the highest of skills to achieve so much with as few strokes as possible. Sumi-e fundamentals are the basis of much of Karen's work.

TIDE POOL

Woman Sleeping by the Sea, 40x32, acrylic on styrofoam board

Two Whales Surface Feeding, 10x28, acrylic on paper

Salmon Pool, NFS, Artist's Collection

This painting won the Founder's Award ($400) given in honor of the founder of the Sumi-e Society of America, Motoi Oi, at the international sumi-e exhibition "Sumi-e For Today" hosted by the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto, Canada in 2009. William Ho, an internationally renowned artist was the juror. "Sumi-e" is Japanese for "painting in black ink". Karen's work in whatever media she uses is characterized by sumi-e fundamentals. Wikipedia defines "sumi-e": there is "...a great emphasis on virtuoso brushwork and conveying the perceived "spirit" or "essence" of a subject over direct imitation." ...

Karen Anne Baldauski by the sea on a fine December day.

N HER FIRST COMPETITION,

while still in college, Karen won first prize for her oil painting "Hope" at the Indiana Intercollegiate Salon of Art, a national competition. Encouraged to submit a painting by one of her professors, the unexpected prize marked the beginning of her life devoted to being an artist. At the end of her first freehand drawing course with live models, A. Reid Winsey, the head of the art department at DePauw University, advised her: "Drop everything you may have planned and BE AN ARTIST!" Karen was recruited by Hallmark Cards to work at her first job following graduation from college. Thanks to Hallmark, she learned to make a living through package design and engineering in Kansas City, MO before moving to NYCity where she also excelled in graphic design, illustration, and art direction. For a change of pace from NYCity, she moved to England for a few years and illustrated Alpine Flowers for Dover followed by a Cat Coloring book which is still selling 100s of thousands of copies. Following a 1978 schooner trip out of Rockland, Maine with her sister, Karen decided to pull out of New York City life to move permanently to Maine. She founded her own successful graphic design business til she could retire to the saltwater farm where she now lives by the sea in Lubec to devote most of her time to painting.

Bob: "Let's go!"

As a Registered Maine Guide, Karen knows how important it is when going on adventures to go with a "buddy".

Bob is Karen's buddy He knows how to stay safe in boats on the ocean and the big lakes and rivers throughout Maine. He knows how to fix most everything that could break down and has mastered electronic gear to cover all eventualities. Bob wrote a poem (below) for Karen, December 27, 2012, which sums up her life:

Art is IT

IT is Art

IT is my passion

IT is I

IT is my Soul

IT is my life

IT is eternal

I am IT

A NOTE FROM KAREN:

As artists, what subjects we choose to concentrate on

in our work tells a lot about who we are and what we find to be meaningful in life.

Our work becomes our legacy.

Thank you for spending time looking at some of my works.

(There are more paintings displayed under the heading PAINTINGS 2, and SUMI-E, click on the menu.)