Artist Q & A: Sheri Bakes
Vancouver Island based artist Sheri Bakes discusses the influence of the Northern Lights on her upcoming solo exhibition Aurora, and shares how she approached imbuing her new works with the energy and emotion of the Lights. Aurora opens at Bau-Xi Vancouver on October 5 and runs through October 17, 2024.
Sheri Bakes, Night Light. Oil on canvas, 42x48 inches.
1. The Northern Lights are a captivating natural phenomenon that we in British Columbia rarely have the opportunity and privilege to witness. What specifically about them inspired this new body of work?
I hadn’t actually intended on painting them or a theme on them. Friends kept asking me or assuming I would but I hadn’t planned on it. Then one friend in Washington messaged me about painting them and her excitement and awe reminded me of how excited my Mom used to get with light in nature and I was pulled into painting them. It felt special to share in this deep connection to the lights.
2. Can you discuss the color palette you chose for this exhibition and how it reflects the experience of witnessing the Northern Lights?
I’ve mostly been drawn to the pink shades which run through the entire show. I was reading that darker red and pink colours sit at the lower edge fringe of the aurora and are produced by nitrogen molecules at altitudes around 100 kilometers. I was interested in exploring the pink variations both visually and in feeling.
Sheri Bakes, Aurora. Oil on canvas, 54x54 inches.
3. Can you lead us through a little of your process and explain your painting technique and what drew you to it? How does this method enhance the atmosphere and intention you aim to convey?
I think the mark making communicates an awareness of the atmospheric and light particles. There’s an attempt to not simply comprehend how the science of the Northern Lights or the technical rendering of them works, but to empathize and feel with them, then paint that feeling. For me that’s the whole point.
4. What roles do light and shadow play in your work?
I think light and shadow is generally important terminology for 2D work. I don’t really work this way. My work (at least the process of my work from where I am in making it) is built from a sculptural mindset. In terms of sculpture my brain functions in a deconstructivist manner: once the rough underpainting is laid down the work is visually sculpted. So it’s difficult to put 2D language onto a sculptural mental process.
Sheri Bakes, Solar Wind. Oil on canvas, 20x20 inches.
5. How did/do you decide on the scale and detail of your mark making for each piece?
About 98% of the choices made are by feel. I set up the studio so that the majority of the work can be made by feel throughout the entire painting process.
The pointillist movement and Impressionism both had a significant impact on my work in high school and university. Georges Seurat’s painting Un Dimanche Apres-Midi a L'Ile de la Grande Jatte (1884-86) is a piece that has stuck with me, as well as Van Gogh’s brief time with pointillism and the earlier pointillist work of Mondrian and Kandinsky.
6. Are there other artists (be they visual, literary, film based, etc.) or movements that have influenced your work? If so, how do they resonate with your vision for this current exhibition?
Overall, yes, many. For this specific show I suppose those artists mentioned above because of the historical mark making and colour placement references. The Group of Seven and the Leningrad School painters will always be an influence I owe credit to. In terms of other influences I have favourite poets, writers, music artists etc… but I draw from a very, very wide variety. Rick Williams was a mentor through my time at the Emily Carr University. His classes used to involve a wide variety of sensory stimulation. His influence on my mental and emotional painting practice was very significant.
7. Are there other natural phenomena you are interested in exploring in future paintings or exhibitions?
I’ve learned that it’s important to show instead of tell, so I’ll show you when I get there.
1. The Northern Lights are a captivating natural phenomenon that we in British Columbia rarely have the opportunity and privilege to witness. What specifically about them inspired this new body of work?
I hadn’t actually intended on painting them or a theme on them. Friends kept asking me or assuming I would but I hadn’t planned on it. Then one friend in Washington messaged me about painting them and her excitement and awe reminded me of how excited my Mom used to get with light in nature and I was pulled into painting them. It felt special to share in this deep connection to the lights.
2. Can you discuss the color palette you chose for this exhibition and how it reflects the experience of witnessing the Northern Lights?
I’ve mostly been drawn to the pink shades which run through the entire show. I was reading that darker red and pink colours sit at the lower edge fringe of the aurora and are produced by nitrogen molecules at altitudes around 100 kilometers. I was interested in exploring the pink variations both visually and in feeling.
3. Can you lead us through a little of your process and explain your painting technique and what drew you to it? How does this method enhance the atmosphere and intention you aim to convey?
I think the mark making communicates an awareness of the atmospheric and light particles. There’s an attempt to not simply comprehend how the science of the Northern Lights or the technical rendering of them works, but to empathize and feel with them, then paint that feeling. For me that’s the whole point.
4. What roles do light and shadow play in your work?
I think light and shadow is generally important terminology for 2D work. I don’t really work this way. My work (at least the process of my work from where I am in making it) is built from a sculptural mindset. In terms of sculpture my brain functions in a deconstructivist manner: once the rough underpainting is laid down the work is visually sculpted. So it’s difficult to put 2D language onto a sculptural mental process.
5. How did/do you decide on the scale and detail of your mark making for each piece?
About 98% of the choices made are by feel. I set up the studio so that the majority of the work can be made by feel throughout the entire painting process.
The pointillist movement and Impressionism both had a significant impact on my work in high school and university. Georges Seurat’s painting Un Dimanche Apres-Midi a L'Ile de la Grande Jatte (1884-86) is a piece that has stuck with me, as well as Van Gogh’s brief time with pointillism and the earlier pointillist work of Mondrian and Kandinsky.
6. Are there other artists (be they visual, literary, film based, etc.) or movements that have influenced your work? If so, how do they resonate with your vision for this current exhibition?
Overall, yes, many. For this specific show I suppose those artists mentioned above because of the historical mark making and colour placement references. The Group of Seven and the Leningrad School painters will always be an influence I owe credit to. In terms of other influences I have favourite poets, writers, music artists etc… but I draw from a very, very wide variety. Rick Williams was a mentor through my time at the Emily Carr University. His classes used to involve a wide variety of sensory stimulation. His influence on my mental and emotional painting practice was very significant.
7. Are there other natural phenomena you are interested in exploring in future paintings or exhibitions?
I’ve learned that it’s important to show instead of tell, so I’ll show you when I get there.
The artist with one of her beloved whippets.