THe DeTails

lines that sensuously circle back on

themselves. “I’ve had clients request lim-

ited color schemes, sometimes probably

an interior design concept. I will not

work that way,” he emphasizes. “Every

subject has the entire spectrum. Optical

blending needs just that.”

A decade ago, when Baird took this

new direction with his work, he experi-

anDrew bairD aT MiraDa fine arT preview

anD arTisT recepTion, MAy 11, 6 to 9 p.M.

THe bairD exHibiT, MAy 11 to June 3

MirAdA fine Art, 5490 pArMAlee GulCh rd.,

indiAn hills (froM denver, tAke hwy. 285s; Go

four Miles pAst C-470 to pArMAlee GulCh)

303-697-9006

Hours: tues.-sAt. 10 A.M. to 5 p.M.; sun. noon

to 4 p.M.; Closed Mon.

1 Artist Andrew BAird in his studio

2 BAird’s work displAyed At MirAdA fine Art

mented with several subjects: men,

women, even John Lennon. Buyers

were only interested in the ladies. “I

think across the board, in our culture,

everyone enjoys looking at the face of a

pretty, young woman,” Baird says.

Nevertheless, he envisions one day he

will craft portraits of Samuel Clemens

and Albert Einstein and see them

placed in museums.

Baird decided to extend his Jackson

Pollack-type technique to Andy Warhol-

like pop art objects a few years ago.

2

tain location of a painting, whether it

be pixels, dots or lines, in my case drip-

lines, the viewer will see the shadow or

clothing that logically should be there.”

Baird goes brushless, using stir sticks

to guide the paint across the canvas.

His easel is the studio floor. He wields

a flat stick over the surface, walking

around the canvas, dispensing dozens

of brilliant colors in free-flowing, long

Andrew Baird: Painter,Potter, Educator, Innovator

A peek into the Minds And heArts of ColorAdo’s Most-tAlented people.

T a l e n T e D , D e D i c a T e D

a r T i s T s b r e a T H e

T H e i r a r T . e v e n o n

T H e M o s T c H a l l e n g i n g

D a y s , v o i D o f

i n s p i r a T i o n a n D

a c H i n g f r o M

T H e p H y s i c a l i T y

o f i T , T H e y a r e

c o M p e l l e D T o

c o n T i n u e T H e

w o r k

ArtSCENE

and streaming line process that builds

layer upon layer of color from which

an underlying image sketched onto the

bare canvas emerges.

“Optical blending occurs when you

give the viewer’s eye (mind’s eye) what

it’s looking for,” Baird explains. “When

enough dark colors are placed in a cer-

SO IT IS WITH DENVER NATIVE AND

FIFTH-GENERATION COLORADAN, Andy

Baird. Routinely refreshing his vision

and refining his technique, Baird cre-

ates art that draws the viewer in and

demands mindful scrutiny. He’s known

for large-scale pieces—generally about

6 feet by 5 feet—and an intriguing drips t o r y : M a r g e D . H a n s e n

1

PH

OT

O:

MA

RY

LYN

N G

ILL

AS

PIE

As seen in the April/MAy 2012 COLORADOexpression

what inspired Baird to play with optical

blending and streaming liquid paint.

The journey of trial, error and success

has resulted in tighter work that is

extremely and confidently colorful.

Baird currently averages about 50

paintings per year and often has as

many as four to six works in progress

at a time. His paintings and pottery

have found places in personal and

corporate collections worldwide.

There’s usually music in the studio

as Baird works. “I can tell what I was

listening to when I look at one of my

completed paintings,” he says. His “Oak

Tree” in a winter landscape, a newer

subject for the artist to exhibit and part

of Baird’s upcoming show at Mirada

Fine Art in Indian Hills, may have

echoes of Beethoven in its curving,

colorful lines…or is it French jazz? Art

2

lovers can be sure that Andy Baird hits

just the right note with every subject

he brings to the canvas.

Marge D. Hansen is a Broomfield, Colorado-based

freelance writer/editor and a regular contributor

to Colorado Expression. Her articles appear in

a variety of lifestyle magazines and websites.

ce

“These have been fun, challenging and

very successful,” Baird notes. “In my

American flags the red stripes look red

even though there may be 30 colors.

There are enough varieties of reds to help

the viewer overlook all the other colors.”

As an early art lover—he chose his

career path in second grade—Baird

went on to train at the Rocky Mountain

School of Art & Design in Denver, where

he developed a passion for working in

oil and painting figures, but not com-

mercial art. He earned an art education

degree from the University of Northern

Colorado in Greely in 1972 and his

masters in 1976.While still a student, his

love of the potter's wheel turned Baird

from painter to potter.

He deciphered the secret of creating

the hand-polished finish of the black

ware pots made famous by Maria

Martinez of the San Ildefonso Pueblo in

New Mexico. Baird developed a three-

part technique of throwing a pot,

breaking it and reassembling it, which

gave it an ancient appearance. The first

pot he sold in Santa Fe went to Robert

Redford, which garnered Baird national

attention. Teaching art at the high

school and college levels, he simulta-

neously engaged his students, while

building his reputation as a ceramic

artist and producing an impressive

body of work displayed in some of

the country’s most notable galleries.

Turning back to painting in 2002,

an assignment he designed for one of

his advanced students is ultimately

ArtSCENE

1 “we the people” oriGinAl ACryliC on

CAnvAs, 39” x 66” 2 detAil of “sheryl”,

on displAy At MirAdA fine Art GAllery

1

As seen in the April/MAy 2012 COLORADOexpression