More Paintings 'Antiqua'

Antiqua Birds

Summer Light

Through the Lens

New Paintings - Spring 2018

For me, Art has its own language, and much like music and it can be mysterious at times. It can share insight, feeling, sensation, and memory, even a sense of taste...

There is joy and freedom in making the something invisible come to lifeand then to share it… something personal, or universal, something beautiful or at times secret. Reaching into deeper levels to see what happens.

What inspires me? 

The divine mystery of nature, its interesting forms and patterns, 

To make the complicated ‘simple’, linking past and future to

present, uncovering something lovely, finding beauty in unexpected ways,
a form of poetry within the body of our being ... without words.

Abstract painting allows of all this and more.

My normal color palette tends to run in earth colors and muted tones. 
That’s were I’m most comfortable. Balance and light are the principal guides, probably from being a photographic artist utilizing black and white selenium tones for so many years.  We’ll see where it leads to next!

Layers of Memories. Oil and cold wax on Arches Rag  Paper

Mountain Rain

Photography Exhibit Review, A Sense of Place

A Sense of Place ART REVIEW

By Leela Vera Morales

Sometimes the real Baja Sur is washed away in the wave of ‘tourist’ culture. We’re in Mexico, but who are the Mexicans? What were their customs before the U.S. Dollar came knockin’ at the door? To catch a glimmer of the original Baja, visit Todos Santos where an exhibition of resident photographer, Laurie Pearce Bauer, captures a sense of place.

Galaría Casa Tota is host to this photography exhibition, A Sense of Place.   On April 10^th, Bauer welcomed over 80 people to the art opening. If you weren’t privy to the opening where she spoke about her life and influences, you can discover her work at a calm pace from now through June.

Art has been an important part of Bauer’s life since childhood, but first began delving into landscape photography while working as in architecture in San Francisco. Later she began doing black and white classic “Madonna-style” mother-and-child portraiture. She became an expert darkroom printer.  This was an alternative to the mainstream, commercial portraiture offered at the time. Bauer says she found her “voice” as a photographer when she moved (with husband and two small children) to northern France. The mystery and allure of the historic ruins of the region inspired her to develop impressionistic prints, 'creating a feeling of the past in the present moment', through her photography.

The antique quality of Bauer’s work is reflected in her Ranchero and People portraits. By working in black and white she feels she can better capture the essence of her subjects. Her interest in broadening the notion of time through the timeless quality of photographs is an attempt to help the viewer to be “more observant and present”. It is also an expression of the Buddhist teachings that have a strong influence on her art.

One of my favorite pieces is “Rancho Burnishing Clay”. It’s a warm tone black and white photo (as are most of her pieces) of a Ranchero woman’s hands putting the finishing touches on a traditional clay pot. I stood captivated before it for a long while. I felt as if I was the artist, lost in my work. The romance we associate with the creative process, and the flow an artist experiences when in the moment were all captured in that one shot.

A Sense of Place includes Bauer’s photos of Baja Ca Sur, botanical life, and Aztec and modern dancers, but the most striking of all are those photos taken locally of Rancheros and of the Todos Santos street art “Wall of Saints”. In portraits of both the oldest generation of resident, as well as the younger generation. She shows “strength of character with less materialism - the way people lived years ago.” One feels as if one has been invited into the homes and lives of the Sud-Californianos.

Bauer’s photos of the “Wall of Saints” – a long wall painted by resident artists and children of the Palapa Soicety – bring to life local art, often overlooked. I, for one, had no idea where it was, despite driving by it several times a week. The paint is chipped and fading, destroyed in the daily onslaught of dust and sun, but in Bauer’s photos they positively radiate with life and unearthly essence.

“I want to show layers of time,” says Bauer. “I think we need to learn from our history. We’re so caught up in our own lives – it is good to broaden the view.”

Bauer’s photography is somewhat haunting, yet warm and inviting. Through her work, one senses the Baja California of a time gone by, and the one that is still alive and breathing beneath the veneer of modernity. A Sense of Place is on exhibit at Galaría Casa Tota through June, and is open seven days a week during Casa Tota’s restaurant hours. Prints (framed and unframed) are available for purchase at extremely reasonable prices as well as art cards.

Her Fine Art web site can be found at: http://casaverdephotography.blogspot.mx

Laurie Pearce Bauer is also available for wedding and portrait photography, which is somewhat different from her fine art, but excellent in quality, composition and feeling. Visit www.baylaurelphotography.com for more information.

Cabo Mil Interview 96.3 fm

Weekend with Wendy Program, Saturday April 19th 2014

Leela Vera Morales is a talented local writer who loves to travel and write about her adventures, as well as culture, food and art. One can visit her blog at : http://leelavera.com

Opening Evening, Art Photography Exhibition

Thanks to everyone who came to the Art Exhibition Opening at Galería Casa Tota April 10th. 

Many thanks to Victoria, Jan, Marisol and all the many friends and supporters who helped 

in organizing. The show will be open daily until June, please stop by. 

A SENSE OF PLACE.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Selected Exhibitions

Visions Gallery, Todos Santos, BCS, Mexico

Award for Best in Show for “Dancer" 2011

Visions Gallery, Todos Santos, BCS, Mexico
Three photographs accepted into Juried Show
Award for Best in Show for “Tres Vacas” 2010

Galarie Halyes, Todos Santos BCS
Photographs, 2008

Galerie On'ce Todos Santos, BCS, Mexico

Photographs, 2007

Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA
Spring Show 2004

Center for Visual Arts, Oakland, CA
Juried show 1997 and 1998

Mokatoff Gallery, New York City
Portraits of Tibetan Lama’s 1998

Yosemite Gallery, Oakland, CA
The French Photographs, 1998 and 1999

American Institute of Architects, Oakland, CA
Photographic Exhibit, 1996 SOLO SHOW

Center for Visual Arts, Oakland, CA
IVth Annual Photographic, 1995

Oakland Museum, Collectors Gallery, Oakland, CA
Photographs 1994 and 1995

Oakland Museum, Collectors Gallery, Oakland, CA
Photographs 1995 SOLO SHOW

Arts Gallery, JFK University, Orinda, CA
France and Belgium Photographs, 1994 SOLO SHOW

Galerie Hutin, Compiegne, France
Impressions, 1993 SOLO SHOW

Les Halles de Pierrefonds, France
Impressions 1993 SOLO SHOW

Le Consiel Regional de L’Oise, France
Historical Sites and Art 1993 (Publication)

Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris. France
Mother and Child, 1992 (Permanent Collection)

The Forum Gallery, Jamestown, New York
Envisioning a Dream, 1992 (With Catalog)

Gallery 25, Fresno, CA Annual Show, 1992

Museum of Photography, University of California at Riverside
Permanent Collection, 1991

Pro Arts Center, Oakland, CA
East Bay Artists, 1990

Environmental Design School Gallery, UC Berkeley
The White Room, 1980

Worth Ryder Gallery, UC Berkeley
Departure, 1980
Photoetchings, 1979

Education:

University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts in Art and Design

Academy of Art College, San Francisco
Graduate studies in Photography

Master Photography Workshops and Classes
Ruth Bernhard, Morely Bear, Ansel Adams, Micheal Kenna,
Martha Casanave, James Wood, Jason Madara etc.
Friends of Photography, PPA, GGS, etc.