Hello again! I took a bit of a break from this project while I worked on my shop launch and some other big projects, but I am back with another exciting artist!
Bailey Ferguson
Bailey and I met through an artist workshop put on by Hawai’i Contemporary earlier this fall. I happened to follow her on Instagram the same day as the first session, not realizing she was part of the workshop, only to get a message from her saying she saw me in the Zoom meeting! We ended up meeting for coffee a few weeks later, after checking out a show that she had a painting in. Eventually, our schedules aligned and we were able to connect in her studio for this shoot!
Bailey’s studio is a really unique space underneath her apartment. It is technically outside, though fully covered and protected from the elements. Plus, she has done a great job of making it into a super cozy, homey area with all the rugs, plants, and a big comfy chair (it’s the perfect artist chair, really). The inside/outside space seems fitting for Hawaii, and even more so given her subject matter.
In case it isn’t apparent by now, Bailey is a painter. Her work is abstract and gestural, full of movement and energy. She focuses on abstract expressions of both land and sea, drawing inspiration from the special places on Hawaii Island and the powerful ocean that surrounds us. She does an incredible job of capturing the unique and ethereal qualities of those landscapes in vibrant colors, bold marks, and rich textures.
One of my favorite parts of photographing any artist in their studio is getting a little window into how their mind works and how they allow creativity to flow. Bailey is a very intuitive painter, making marks and spreading paint seemingly on a whim. Seeing her dive right into a blank canvas was impressive to me, as I am someone who has to plan and stare and think before deciding to make that first mark. She also has multiple paintings in progress at any given time; while I was there she worked on three separate canvases over the course of our shoot and jumped back and forth between them throughout the afternoon.
The range of tools and techniques that Bailey uses is also fascinating to see. Her primary medium is acrylic paint, but she mixes in oil and chalk pastels as well as pencil. She also uses rags, palette knives, bone folders and more as tools to make unique marks and textures within those materials. Layers are essential to her work and it was so interesting to see how she builds up the colors to create such depth within her paintings.
Bailey has recently added spray paint to her list of materials, and her process with that includes more planning than her typical work (at least for this particular piece). She mocked up a digital version of the painting on her phone and used that as a guide to block off certain areas of the canvas before spraying. She still allowed herself the freedom to adjust and react based on what she was seeing in front of her, but the start of the process involved more of a plan than usual.
One thing that really struck me while photographing Bailey was all the different positions and orientations she works on the canvas. She was constantly turning and tilting them, working at waist level and then crouching down to make marks, and even setting a canvas on an easel at one point for a totally different feel and result. I see a lot of parallels between the way she works and her subject matter; both are constantly shifting and moving, which has a visual impact on the land, or in Bailey’s case, the canvas.
A huge thank you to Bailey for being so welcoming and letting me spend the afternoon documenting her process! She is the nicest soul and I am so grateful for the insight into her work. You can see more of her paintings and even purchase pieces on her website. Definitely follow her on Instagram to keep up with her impressive and active career as well!