r scott baltz
R scott Baltz
augus t 21– s ep t eber 15, 2013
Nature’s Majesty
essay by Karin Wilkes
Little Pond Late, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
cover
Middle Pond Mirrored, oil on panel, 36 x 48 inches
6 court street ellsworth, maine 04605
courthousegallery.com
207 667 6611
The Fallen Garden, oil on linen, 22 x 26 inches
Out Looking In, oil on panel, 18 x 24 inches
r scott baltz
Nature’s Majesty
by Karin Wilkes
R Scott Baltz uses oil paint to create intimate an sensation
of a world untouched by humanity. A landscape painter
and devoted lover of nature, Baltz has managed to render
the unspoiled essence of the natural world with his human
hand. There is no evidence of people, structures, or industry
in his paintings—not so much as a birdhouse or a buoy.
Rather, the viewer finds themselves alone and at peace in
Baltz’s compositions, in a way more soothing than lonesome,
more animated than abandoned.
Red Vision, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
His pursuit of visual art began twenty-five years ago with
photography, which laid the foundation for future work.
“The camera forced me to take time to see.” The transformation from camera to paint evolved slowly. Baltz was coming
to Maine on six-week journeys in the early 1990s with his
4 x 5 camera when he met Ellen Church, an artist living on
Mount Desert Island. Ellen invited Baltz to stay the season in a guest cabin on her property. One day she gave him
some watercolors. Baltz was enthralled. Ellen was astonished
when she saw his first group of watercolors. From then on,
Ellen became an ardent supporter and mentor.
Touching the Sky, oil on linen, 32 x 42 inches
Blue Mirage Opening, oil on panel, 19 x 38 inches
Primary Fantasy, oil on panel, 24 x 30 inches
Paint offered Baltz a new-found freedom and the ability to
tap into his vast imagination. Over the next several years,
he immersed himself in the study of art, finding inspiration
in the work of the early American modernist, German
expressionists, and the Canadian Group of Seven. Now,
working almost exclusively in oil, Baltz maintains his exceptional graphic sense while creating animated trinities
of water, earth, and sky—all equals in vitality and majesty.
The triangular, geometric peaks of Blue Mirage Opening
contrast with the pitching and curling mountain range
of Renewal. What these, and all of Baltz’s paintings, share
is an exploration of shapes and energy. He is additionally
captivated by transitioning light, which he renders in gutsy
pigments. Each work burns with unique color choices—
red mountains and sherbet clouds—yet they also hum with
the tranquility of violet and azure. The swirling caramel
mountains and whipped cream clouds of Windswept Fantasy
make Baltz’s work seem almost edible and undeniably
fantastical.
Beginning with a rough pencil sketch on location, Baltz
often meditates on the image for months or even years until
an inspired version takes form in his mind. Finally, in the
studio, the idea transforms itself onto canvas. “At the core of
my work is an intense interest in the energy and movement
of the landscape. My paintings evolve from intimate experiences,
filtered by the passage of time and memory.”
Lakeside Shifting, oil on panel, 16 x 20 inches
His paintings comfort. They welcome. Often, the focal
point of Baltz’s work is a pathway of water, sand, or light,
beckoning the viewer further into the composition’s terrain.
Middle Pond Mirrored guides the reader down its liquid
carpet toward the glow of a bright-white vanishing point.
The glassy curving stream of Primary Fantasy promises
further beauty to be explored. Silent Passing invites the viewer
into the hushed still of a quiet winter field, encouraging
them to imagine the isolated crunch of their own boots
on snow.
The viewer is compelled to accept Baltz’s invitation: to follow
the crescent curve of a beach, swoop up the cloudy peaks of a
summit, cross the field to a cool blue pool, or tip-toe into the
quiet peace of a clearing—to find themselves secluded in and
ignited by nature.
Windswept Fantasy, oil on linen, 32 x 42 inches
Renewal
oil on panel
30 x 59 inches
Distant Island Rising, oil on panel, 24 x 30 inches
Sky Grazing Summit, oil on panel, 18 x 24 inches
Dimming Light Passing
oil on linen
38 x 30 inches
Twilight Passing, oil on linen, 30 x 42 inches
Salter’s Seaway, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
The View, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Waves and Circles, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Broken Sky Lifting,oil on panel, 11 x 14 inches
Silent Passing, oil on panel, 24 x 36 inches
Spring Break October, oil on panel, 24 x 30 inches
Red Vision Rising, oil on linen, 32 x 42 inches
r scott baltz
b o r n E p h ra ta , P e n n sy lv a n i a 1961
SOLO E X HI B I T I ONS
Courthouse Gallery Fine Art, Ellsworth, ME 2013
Cynet Gallery, Portland, ME 2008
Red Estate, Malvern, PA 2005
The Creative Photographic Art Center of Maine, Lewiston, ME 1997
GROUP E X HI B I T I ONS
Courthouse Gallery Fine Art, Ellsworth, ME 2013
University of New England, “A Mountain Rises: The Art of Katahdin” Portland, ME 2013
Asticou Connection Gallery, Town Hill, ME 2011, ’12, ‘13
Shaw Gallery, Northeast Harbor, ME 2002, ’04, ’05, ’08, ‘09
Cygnet Gallery, Portland, ME 2007, 2008
Maine State House, “ The Upper Coast: MDI to Belfast”, Augusta, ME 2004
The Turtle Gallery, Deer Isle, ME 1994, ’95, 2001, ‘02
Redfield Artisans, Northeast Harbor, ME 1998, ’99, 2000, ’01
J.S. Ames Fine Art, Belfast, ME 1994, 1995
The 64th Wilmington International Exhibit of Photography, Newark, DE 1997
The 63rd Wilmington International Exhibit of Photography, Newark, DE 1996
PUBLI C COLLECTI ONS
Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA
The Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Mount Desert, ME
The Mount Desert Island Hospital, Bar Harbor, ME
The United States Department of the Interior
The United States General Services Administration, M.C. Smith Federal Building
se l e c t e d PUBLI CATI ONS
“Katahdin: The Mountain, The Muse,” Down East Magazine, August 2013
David Little, “Art of Katahdin,” Downeast Books, 2013
Barbara Kent Lawrence, “Islands of Time,” Just Write Books, 2013
“Coastal New England Artists Who Dare to Be Different,” Experience, 2012
Suzette McAvoy, “Natures Cathedrals,” Maine Home + Design, September 2009
“Artists of the Maine Winter,” Down East Magazine, February 2003
Carl Little and Arnold Skolnick, “The Art of Maine in Winter,” Down East Books, 2002
Down East Magazine, frontispiece, November 1995
“Nature’s Art,” Down East Magazine, cover image and photo essay, November 1994
EDUCATION
Colorado Mountain College, photography, one year
University of Delaware, Life Sciences, one year
Gold Blue Broken, oil on panel, 24 x 30 inches
6 court street ellsworth, maine 04605
courthousegallery.com
207 667 6611