Constance Baltuck

Golden Moments

The snow is coming down outside, but my studio is cozy and warm.  As I finish paintings begun in the Fall and begin work on new pieces, I've had plenty of time to dwell on both the past and the future.  

While still basking in the glory of my show at the Alaska State Museum, I'm also looking forward to more plein aire painting as the weather improves.  Meanwhile, I'm working diligently at my easel, having fun with my friends, and cross-country skiing; above all, I'm loving living in the moment!

I hope you can join me at the Franklin Street Gallery this Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 for February's First Friday at the Baranof Hotel.  I'll have some new paintings and we'll have a wine-tasting from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. 

Happy New Year to all of you! 

 

Thank You! Happy Holidays!

Thanks, everyone, for a really great opening at the Alaska State Museum last month.  As a person who fairly worships museums, the State Museum's purchase of two of my paintings for their permanent collection was one of the proudest moments of my art career.  My show will be at the Museum until January 14th, and the Museum will be open for Gallery Walk, December 2nd.

Also for Gallery Walk, I will have eighteen new paintings from my recent trip to France in a show of  "Small Works" at the Franklin Street GaIlery at the Baranof Hotel.  Tom Locher will be there at the piano and there will be a wine-tasting at the opening reception from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.  I hope you can join in this festive city-wide celebration of art, music, and lights.  Happy Holidays, Everyone!

 

 

A Long and Winding Road

A year ago, when I heard that my art would be featured at the Alaska State Museum in November 2011, I expected to spend the entire next year, nose to the drawing board, diligently preparing.  I did spend the year getting ready, but it takes more than painting to create a show.  It takes being out in the world, open to all its peaks and valleys, harvesting life's scattered treasures, and wrestling them into something that sits handsomely on canvas.  In other words, I had to paint like I always have; at my usual pace, exploring interesting side paths and intriguing byways, always moving forward, but rarely in a straight line.

I began the New Year by moving into a real artist's studio and keeping regular painting hours.  An inspirational workshop with Kes Woodward in June gave me a surge of energy that was sustained by painting outdoors all summer with Barbara Craver.  An incredible Artist-in-Residence experience at Kobuk Valley National Park in the fall rounded off the year.  A visit to Banff and a week of Tango in Portland added spice to the brew! Now, I am pleased to share a busy year's worth of art, travel, and life experiences distilled into one show.  

Please come and join me for the opening reception on Friday, November 4th, from 4:00 to 7:00pm.  Three other shows open at the Museum that night and Tom Locher will lend an air of elegance to the gala event, playing piano in the gallery.  I hope you'll be there, too.  If you can't make it, please check out my November show in the Preview album on this page.

 

Company's Coming!

 

October is Open Studio Month in Juneau, Alaska.  The Franklin Street Gallery at the Baranof Hotel is featuring the work of more than 30 Juneau Artists.  All month, studio doors will be open to visitors interested in seeing how and where local artists produce their work.  

My favorite workplace is the Great Outdoors.  Using our re-purposed jogger strollers, my friend and fellow artist, Barbara Craver, and I pushed farther down the trails than ever; however, I nearly always complete my paintings in my studio. This Saturday, October 15th, our studios in the Arcticorp Building will be open from 1-4 pm.  

For this special occasion I've not only tidied up my workspace, I've also updated my website, posting nearly 300 paintings from the last six years in my Archives album and a preview of my show that opens November 4th at the Alaska State Museum.

If you would like a postcard notice for my Museum show, please send your mailing address to me as soon as possible at: www.constancebaltuck.com.

Stop by on Saturday, or any time you're in the neighborhood, and thanks, as always, for your interest in my work!  

 

Adventures in the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes

Sand in everything; tents, shoes, teeth, food...  Hauling and filtering every drop of drinking water...  Hot sun and cold rain...  At one point I counted and found I was wearing seven layers of clothing; everything I had brought with me but a few extra pairs of socks!  Yet, last month, in the Kobuk Valley National Park,  I had one of the best adventures of my life as an Artist-in-Residence painting in the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes.

The Dunes cover an area over 25 miles square and are ever-changing in the constant wind. Bordering the dunes are tributaries to the great Kobuk River, alive with Grayling and surrounded by dense willow shrub and forests of black spruce.  On the dunes, tiny flowers and hummocks of grass stand high on pedestals carved by the scouring wind.  Towering over all, enormous clouds sail across the sky, trailing showers and rainbows, receding into distant horizons all around.  It was a painter's paradise.  If all goes according to plan, I'll present the 18 paintings I began on the Kobuk in a show next March.  Meanwhile, I continue to prepare for a show with the Alaska State Museum, opening this November 4th.  

Thanks for checking in!  

 

Springtime in Juneau

Spring is roaring in to Juneau like a pride of lions.  Winds gusting through town at 90 mph send the snow into deep drifts.  Snow plumes shoot off the mountain tops while below, on Gastineau Channel, speeding whirlwinds suck icy water far into the sky.  Not a good time to paint outdoors, but lucky me, to have this view framed by my studio window!  

This Friday, March 4th, we are opening a new show in the Franklin Street Gallery at the Baranof Hotel.  The Baranof will offer a wine-tasting and Barbara Craver, Puanani Maunu, Jane Stokes and I will be hosting an open studio in the gallery. 

Come in out of the cold and try your hand at the watercolor, acrylic painting, and pastel work stations that will be set up.  Art activities and wine tasting will be from 4:30 to 7:00 pm.  I hope you can come!

 

Gallery Walk 2010

Thanks, everyone, for coming to my show last November.  In fact, I would like to thank all of you who have encouraged me and supported my painting throughout my career.  I'm about to embark on a year of painting full time, not just because I've always wanted to say, "I'm taking a sabbatical," a phrase that sounds so incredibly civilized, but also because the timing is right.  I launched the year with my show at the Canvas Gallery last month. This month I'll have new work for the annual Gallery Walk in the Franklin Street Gallery at the Baranof Hotel.

Every year, I am impressed by how many people show up at galleries all over Juneau, eager and joyful, full of holiday spirit, in support of Alaska's art and artists.   I hope you can join me and the other Baranof Gallery artists for our Gallery Walk reception on Friday, December 3rd, from 4:30 to 8:00 pm.  Meanwhile, you can see my new paintings in the photo album labeled 2010 Gallery Walk.  

Have a Wonderful Holiday Season and a Very Happy New Year!

 

Can't Say No!

Learning to say Yes! has brought some crazy wonderful experiences into my life; my recent visit to Romania has to be one of the very best examples of positive reinforcement ever.  What a treat to visit such a beautiful part of the world, to meet so many interesting people, and to paint just a tiny bit of the life of the village where I stayed.  As usual, when I travel, I brought way more art supplies than I used. There were just too many temptations!  

Several of my little paintings became thank-you gifts to my generous hosts, but most of them just didn't get made.  On this trip I learned that a quick sketch might be all I'd have time for. I may not have as many paintings as I would like, but my sketchbook runneth over.  

I've got an exhibit opening at the Canvas Gallery this Friday, November 5th, from 4:30 to 7:00 pm.This show will include my little paintings from Romania as well as recent work from Juneau.

Click on the 2010: Canvas Gallery photo album to your left to see work that will be in the show. Tom Locher will be there, at the piano, bringing elegance to the reception and I hope you can be there, too.  

Tiny Miracles

Summer is over; the days are shorter, the breezes chillier, and the air is pungent with the fragrance of Autumn.  The delightful blossom of Spring has packed the full potential of next year's summer season into one tiny miracle; a seed!  

In the last few weeks I've worked at the Jensen Arboretum, in the fields of fireweed near Brotherhood Bridge, and in my own yard, painting fruits and berries, seeds and pods, trying to catch that sense of life and regeneration that comes with the turn of the seasons. 

 My new paintings will be on display at the Franklin Street Gallery starting September 3rd, and, to make this First Friday especially elegant, Tom Locher will be there, at the piano, and a free wine tasting will be offered by the Baranof Hotel.  

You can see photographs of some of my work at the Franklin Street Gallery in the Photo Album to your left, but I think it would be even better if you could come down to join the party on Friday!

One of a Kind

On Friday, August 6th, the Baranof Hotel, a classic art-deco style hotel built in Juneau in the 1930's, celebrates the opening of The Franklin Street Gallery at the Baranof, Juneau's newest fine arts gallery.  

Featured artists at Friday's opening include Barbara Craver, Cristine Crooks, Colleen Goldrich, Pua Maunu, Jane Stokes and me!  We'll be in good company at the Baranof; the hotel owns and displays a collection of paintings by many well known Alaskan artists, including Sydney Laurence and Eustace Ziegler.  

The distinguishing feature of this new gallery is that it will show only original work.  These days, with so many prints being made in such large editions, this is an unusually strong statement of appreciation for the exclusive quality of art that is not produced for the masses; original art is created one piece at a time.  A painting or piece of jewelry or pottery that is the only one of its kind has an added value; it is imbued with the mystery of creation.

I hope that you can come to the Franklin's First Ever First Friday.  The reception will be from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Franklin Street Gallery at the Baranof Hotel in Juneau, Alaska.