Visual Language Magazine Contemporary Fine Art Vol 3 no 9

VL
Studio Visit Marcia Baldwin
My first memory of being captured by art was in my
grandmothers home in Texas. She was very artistic
with quilting and sewing, but at times would take
classes in art using mediums such as charcoal and
pastel. I remember standing and staring at a charcoal
drawing she had done and was framed in her
dining room. It captivated me, even as a small child.
When we would enjoy a sweet afternoon or morning
out on her huge porch, sitting in her double glider,
she would sketch small things and give the paper
and pencil over to me to try. My favorite subject,
even then, was horses. She would encourage me
and we would giggle at the funny subjects we came
up with.
My mom was the one who first started me painting.
She enrolled me in a summer workshop with a
noted artist, Louise Sicard, at our Louisiana state
museum. Every morning, I would enjoy setting up
my small easel and laying out my paints on my
palette in anticipation of the famous artist to begin
his demonstration and how we would first start on
our paintings. It was information of color and brush
stroke that I still retrieve in my mind even to this
day, even after 50 years. We used oil paints for this
workshop, and I am still in love with the smell of
turps and oil paints, as much as all those wonderful
days during that first workshop.
Mom would take me to our local park next to our
lake, full of swamp things, huge pine trees, and gorgeous
bald cypress trees with Spanish moss on almost
every limb. She would draw and paint in water
color the most beautiful scenes and I would try my
best to do what she was doing. But the most important
thing I learned from these times, was to look
and see and try to capture real nature on paper.
I received my Bachelors of Fine Art from Louisiana
Tech University in Ruston, La. in 1974. My most influential
instructor was a fine artist/illustrator, Albino
Hinahosa. His focus on good design, composition,
figurative subject matter, and attention to detail
were taught in a loose illustrative style. I incorporate
the elements of design, learned in these years with
him. Color theory classes infatuated me also and
I reflect back on projects using and understanding
color, how it affects the viewers eye, the emotions,
the movements in a composition and in general
how it creates excitement. I was very pleased to
receive the 1974 Illustrator of the Year Award from
Louisiana Tech University.
Many years prior to attending college, my first most
influential teacher was actually my elementary
school principal, Mr. Middleton. He always had special
projects going in the arts and I would be right
there waiting to be included. One I remember so
vividly was huge mosaic murals about the history
of Louisiana and those murals still hang prominently
in the cafeteria and auditorium of this elementary
school. His encouragement to paint and draw
garnered my very first award for a regional contest
depicting thoughts on beautifying our city. I won
a cash award and a spot on a local tv program. I
was hooked. I loved being an artist and I was only 9
years old ! Art is so important in our early years and
needs to be in our school
programs.
I believe working as an advertising designer had the
most influence on my work today. It was challenging
every day being creative on the spur of the moment.
It was fast paced and you had to pay attention to client
needs, detail, and incorporate all the elements
and principles of design to be successful in this
field. I use those skills today in my oil paintings, and
paint with bold, fast, strong color and brush strokes.
It is on an intuitive level, letting a painting come together
through my minds eye.
www.mbaldwinfineart.com
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