Gavin's profile
I aspire to be a painterly painter. My work seeks to celebrate the tension that is inherent in trying to capture an infinitely multifaceted reality through primitive mark making on a flat surface. Cave paintings come to mind. I am particularly fascinated by the boundary between representational and abstract painting. I admire Richard Diebenkorn’s work for it’s brave excursions back and forth across this borderline.
Throughout a childhood of exploration in countries of the Middle East, thanks to my father’s work as a diplomat, I was fascinated by the common miracle of vision through light and color. Like children everywhere, I sought to understand the mysterious world around me through all my senses. But I feel that vision became my primary way of processing the bewilderingly kaleidoscopic scenes I encountered from Athens to Baghdad, Amman, Kuwait, Cairo and Teheran. Surrounded by languages and cultures that I couldn’t understand, the simple act of visual organization became my way of coping. One abiding interest that arose from this visual approach understanding places is in architecture and urban design. After I returned to live in this country for my last year of high school, I found my way to classes at the Boston Architectural Center and to the Architectural Design program at the Massachusetts College of Art. After completing my Bachelors degree there, I went to the University of Oregon for my Masters degree in Architecture. After working as an Architect in New York City for six years, I shifted to ownership of a modular cabinetry business for the next thirty years. I have now retired to Baltimore, to be near my wife’s family, and am able to focus on painting as a way to celebrate that miraculous phenomena of visual comprehension through light and color. For my first two years in Baltimore I lived in an eighteenth century wooden house in the historic Fell’s Point neighborhood. My work was shown there in the Winkel Gallery and about a dozen paintings of local subjects found buyers. I also enjoyed several commissions through the gallery, including house portraits. My work has been shown at the Highlandtown Gallery and at the Chrystal Moll Gallery. Several of my paintings have sold through the Turnover Shop. My painting ‘Brave House’ took first place in the Highlandtown Plein Air Fest, hosted by the Night Owl Gallery. That work and several other pieces will be exhibited there in September of 2022. I am the founder of, and coordinator for, the Baltimore Plein Air Club. We are a sizable group of artists who meet weekly to paint local scenes and then discuss our efforts in person and through our Facebook page.
Throughout a childhood of exploration in countries of the Middle East, thanks to my father’s work as a diplomat, I was fascinated by the common miracle of vision through light and color. Like children everywhere, I sought to understand the mysterious world around me through all my senses. But I feel that vision became my primary way of processing the bewilderingly kaleidoscopic scenes I encountered from Athens to Baghdad, Amman, Kuwait, Cairo and Teheran. Surrounded by languages and cultures that I couldn’t understand, the simple act of visual organization became my way of coping. One abiding interest that arose from this visual approach understanding places is in architecture and urban design. After I returned to live in this country for my last year of high school, I found my way to classes at the Boston Architectural Center and to the Architectural Design program at the Massachusetts College of Art. After completing my Bachelors degree there, I went to the University of Oregon for my Masters degree in Architecture. After working as an Architect in New York City for six years, I shifted to ownership of a modular cabinetry business for the next thirty years. I have now retired to Baltimore, to be near my wife’s family, and am able to focus on painting as a way to celebrate that miraculous phenomena of visual comprehension through light and color. For my first two years in Baltimore I lived in an eighteenth century wooden house in the historic Fell’s Point neighborhood. My work was shown there in the Winkel Gallery and about a dozen paintings of local subjects found buyers. I also enjoyed several commissions through the gallery, including house portraits. My work has been shown at the Highlandtown Gallery and at the Chrystal Moll Gallery. Several of my paintings have sold through the Turnover Shop. My painting ‘Brave House’ took first place in the Highlandtown Plein Air Fest, hosted by the Night Owl Gallery. That work and several other pieces will be exhibited there in September of 2022. I am the founder of, and coordinator for, the Baltimore Plein Air Club. We are a sizable group of artists who meet weekly to paint local scenes and then discuss our efforts in person and through our Facebook page.
Gavin's Curated Collection
View Gavin's favorite works from other Baker Artists
