Dwight Baird – Friday Night Guest – November 12, 2021

(Submitted by Christine Luna)

Dwight Baird was born and raised in Huntingdon, a small town southwest of Montreal, Canada, and is now based in Montreal and has been painting full time for forty years. Upon graduation with a diploma in Visual and Creative Arts from St. Lawrence College in Cornwall, Ontario, he worked briefly as a graphic artist and then spent two years traveling and painting in Europe. He was honored in 2000 as a recipient of a Premiers Award, presented to graduates of Ontario colleges for outstanding accomplishments in a specific field of study (Visual Arts). His work has been exhibited in some of the most prestigious art festivals and he has won numerous prizes for his work

Evolving from watercolors to acrylics he has developed a unique contemporary realism style of big brush impressionist strokes and subtle squares juxtaposed with highly defined focal points. In his own words, his paintings attempt to “create the illusion of reality”. His most recent series of works depict the daily struggle of life in Cuba. These paintings are selected vignettes of a country anchored in the past yet on the verge of dramatic change.

For his presentation to the DVAC he guided us through the steps he took to create his large painting “A Passing Moment”, concentrating on the materials used and the elements of light, color, composition, and color dynamics. In so doing he showed us how to break down our thinking and expose the complexities involved in planning and successfully executing a painting.

Working from a finished study, he paints on a wood panel (he favors 2’ x 4’ large panels), sanded down to a smooth finish, he then applies four coats of gesso to prep the panel. He Uses flat and round brushes of various sizes. Showing step by step close up details of the rocks, the woman’s dress, the castle background and the tin textured backdrop he talked about the techniques used, such as dry brushing, large brush splattering, small brush detail, while paying attention to character and composition to achieve the desired finished work.  We were delighted with a very engaging and informative presentation given by this personable and talented artist. To learn more about Dwight Baird see his website at:  http://dwightbaird.com/