We recently connected with Jane Baldridge and have shared our conversation below.

Jane, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Oceana Phenomena is my current project and the culmination of every skill I have acquired as an artist and the outcome from my water centric life. Watching my childhood sandcastles fall to the continued impertinent rolling in of waves and tide captivated me. It was but a miniature version of what happens all around the globe. Now, much of the coastal areas of the planet have reason to watch their own erosion, subsidence and the rising tides reshape their world. I believe that those people who do not go out on the ocean and witness its power and beauty may not understand what happens with the rushing water borne on a storm. Currents, tides and runoff change the land, scouring some here, depositing some there. It can be beautiful or terrifying. As powerful as the ocean is, it cannot defend itself from man-made pollution and problems. After 45+ years of art practice, I continue to hone my skills to tell of my love for the oceans and what lies below through my my sea stories. My paintings are abstract seascapes about experiences I have had on the ocean that I want to share. My Sea Level Sentinels (mannequins covered in recycled navigational charts and painted to represent the water climbing their bodies) are meant to bring awareness of the threat of floods and permanent inundation. All my homes have been in hurricane zones. They have also been subject to increasingly frequent and destructive flooding. Growing up in Seabrook, Texas I experienced repeated flooding from the 1960s on. Southport, NC has king tides flooding regularly. And South Florida is ground zero for risk of permanent inundation.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My answer to the age-old question posed to children “what do you want to be when you grow up” has always been a sailor and an artist. Fortunately, no one stopped me. Both became a serious focus while still in the single digit age bracket. Sailing since an infant, mother would stuff my bassinet under the seat of her sailboat. I spent my early summers dragging the boat my brother built in wood shop to the lake, I sailed alone every day, dawn till dusk. I worked in our family boat store from 1970 until 1985 except a year off for California Institute of the Arts. In 1972 I sailed across the Gulf of Mexico from Vera Cruz to Port Aransas the first time and again in 1974. In middle school I had a wonderful art teacher who encouraged my work. She successfully entered my drawings in many competitions the top being the 1974 Scholastic Awards Gold Key for Achievement in Art for my ink drawing of a guitar player. Sailboat racing became a serious endeavor as did relentless pursuit of my art practice. Although there have been some distractions from both sailing and my art, I have documented pursuit of both every year since 1972. To date my biggest achievements have been winning the Adams Cup North American Women’s Championship gold medal and attaining Signature level status in the American Society of Marine Artists. I have had some other heady wins including an eight minute video, Wisdom of the Waves, that has garnered 12 International film awards to date. Of course, nothing compares to having your child grow up to be a terrific human being, having a wonderful spouse who loves racing sailboats and encouraging my art career. I love when art show attendees come up and exclaim, they “feel the experience” I am trying to get across in my art or are moved to improve their impact on the planet because of my art and the passion for the planet it espouses.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Be a sponge. Never stop pursuing better art practice habits, knowledge from peers and professionals. Learn and stay open to learning. There are lots of “Art Business Professionals” out there. Understand you may not like or agree with them all. Try them out and see which ones seem genuinely helpful. Also edit what you glean from them for what seems relevant to you. Not everything they say will be helpful. Specifically look up Brainard Carey’s Praxis Center for Aesthetic Studies, Jason Horejs'”Starving” to Successful” and Tim Packer’s art academy for the business of art have helped me distill some business concepts and brought new ones to light. Read about artists you admire, how they approached their practice and what was their biography. Read “A Glossary of Art Terminology”, https://www.modernsculpture.com/art-terminology-a-glossary. Understand archival materials.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My truth is water based. My passion for sailing and being on the water drives my creative muse. Whether it is abstractly describing the perfect sailing day with diamonds glinting off the wrinkles on the water or surviving a life challenging storm, my work has to be original and based from my heart and soul. While at California Institute of the Arts it was ground into us the importance of original work. If it has been done before they said do not do it! So my creative journey is about pushing new boundaries in painting and creating. Making people think about the importance of clean water to the planet and all the things impacting that and maybe getting them to change a habit or two is certainly a goal. My audience is giving me a platform to speak to them and for that I am truly grateful. I know now I cannot single-handedly save the planet but I can bring people to the conversation. And maybe get them to do one thing to do their part.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artspeaks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janelawtonbaldridge/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paintings.janelawtonbaldridge/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-lawton-baldridge-7475987/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneLawtonBaldr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@janelawtonbaldridge/videos
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jane-lawton-baldridge-artspeaks-stuart

Image Credits
my portrait photo- Olga Hamilton Bermuda Triangle – Tom Grissman Deep End of the Ocean – Tom Grissman