Cover Artist

Lois Baird

This month's cover artwork "Girl in the Purple Tutu" is an oil painting created by artist Lois Baird . It isn't unusual for Baird to include children in her paintings, however the viewers perspective in this particular painting makes it such a striking piece.

Baird, whose work is exhibited at Brush Strokes Gallery on Caroline Street in Downtown, is primarily an oil painter. A representational artist, her work includes both studio work and pieces that are painted "en plein air" or painted outdoors.

With a degree in Fine Arts and Graphic Design, Lois spent over 20 years as the publisher and designer of "Horse Talk Magazine." She recently retired from publishing and has rediscovered her passion for painting. "I have enjoyed the calmness and serenity painting has brought me."

An avid photographer and outdoor enthusiast, her seascapes and landscape paintings are in-spired by a love for the streams and lakes in Virginia and the coastal waters of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. "Through my camera lens I have spent many hours studying light and reflec-tions. The excitement in painting, both in studio and "en plein air", is in taking my interpretation of what I see, putting paint on canvas, and seeing what unfolds." Baird explains "I can often look at one of my finished plein-air paintings and remember the sounds of the rippling water, the warmth of the sun, and how the light and shadows danced while I painted. If my art can draw the viewer into the scene and create a similar feeling then I consider it a successful painting."

"Girl in the Purple Tutu" will hang at Brush Strokes Gallery through the month of June or visit Lois' website at oisbaird.com or her Facebook page facebook.com/loisbairdphotography