Martha Rea Baker’s painting, “Order from Chaos” will be included in an exciting exhibition at the Santa Fe Arts Commission Gallery at the Santa Fe Convention Center. This exhibit will feature work that addresses themes related to Carl Jung’s Red Book and will coincide with  SOFA West 2011. Martha’s work was selected by the jury from a group of over 155 submissions.

Please join us for the opening reception Friday, July 17, 2011, 5-7pm.

Order from Chaos——30″ x 30″——Oil/cold wax

Press Release: “The Red Book has been called “The Holy Grail of the Unconscious.” In this landmark and unprecedented masterpiece of self-exploration, Jung lays bare his inner world in a personal and prophetic journey of dreams, fantasies and active imagination. inspired by this great work, the Santa Fe Arts Commission will host the groundbreaking exhibit, Mining The Unconscious: The Creative Path to Self Knowledge in the summer of 2011.”

Martha has finished several new paintings for the upcoming Wax exhibit at Karan Ruhlen Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. Posted below is a new hot wax encaustic 36″ x 36″ square. Say tuned—the exhibition, “Excavated Passages”, opens on July 22, 2011.

Slate----24" x 24"----Courtesy of Karan Ruhlen Gallery

Please visit the Oil/Cold Wax Gallery page for new paintings recently posted. Several of these paintings will be featured in the July exhibition at Karan Ruhlen Gallery in Santa Fe, NM entitled, “Excavated Passages” opening July 22.

The Encaustics of Martha Rea Baker and Mary Long-Postal
July 22 – August 4, 2011
Karan Ruhlen Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

SANTA FE, NM. Luminous colors, elusive textures, evocative depths, and excavated passages are the stuff of encaustic. “It’s a medium that has a rich history in antiquity.” says Karan Ruhlen.” In this two-person exhibit, encaustic is both a reminder of the passage of time, as well as a riveting witness to the presence of space, light and mystery.”

Haiku I-----12" x 12"

Martha has several oil/cold wax panels in progress, working back and forth between 8 to 10 paintings. These paintings evolve through multiple layers, adding and subtracting as she progresses.  What is removed is as important as what is added. Textures are scraped into the paint and then subtly covered or veiled. A time-worn effect is the goal. Always interested in marks left behind by weather, erosion and  earlier civilizations, Martha’s paintings are excavations, an uncovering of textures which remind us of the passage of time. They evoke a visceral response in the viewer and are reminders of our experiences with nature and man.

Please visit the Oil/Cold Wax Gallery to view recent work.

Vertical 2----36" x 12"

Martha is pleased to announce that a “new medium” page has been added to her site. Since September, Martha has been exploring the rich medium of oil paint mixed with Dorland or Gamblin cold wax medium. This is an extremely time-consuming method,  however the results are stunning. The soft, waxy  textural surface is reminiscent of Encaustic. Watch for additional paintings to be posted soon. 

On Golden Pond---Oil/cold wax---36" x 36"----Courtesy of Brown's Fine Art

DOES COLD WAX MEDIUM MIX WITH ACRYLIC PAINT?

ABSOLUTELY NOT—-we have had questions concerning cold  wax medium, such as Dorland or Gamblin, and whether it can be mixed into acrylic paint. It is an oil based wax and, therefore, does not mix with acrylic paint, which is water based. MARTHA REA BAKER does, however, use cold wax as a final coat on her acrylic abstracts. The acrylic paint should be dry before applying a thin coat of cold wax. Allow the wax to dry and buff with a soft cloth.

The sun has been out in Santa Fe and Martha has explored the color yellow. These paintings reflect the artist’s mood.

On Golden Pond----Oil and Cold Wax----36" x 36" Diptych

Soleil----Acrylic----30" x 20"

Soleil II----Acrylic----48" x 30"