Spring in the city
It’s the liberating sense of space and light, as well as the vivid, gorgeous colours, that so draws me to the paintings of Vancouver-based artist Ieva Baklane, who I discovered at Saatchi Online. They bring to mind the feeling I associate with early summer mornings on holiday, when there is such freshness and promise in the air – the prospect of exciting, exotic new places to discover and explore, landscapes drenched in sunshine and roads leading into the distance. They’re certainly the antithesis of our surroundings here in suburban west London!
Perhaps it’s not surprising I feel that way; the above picture is called “Morning” and the one below “Endless Summer”. Latvian-born Ieva herself says of her influences:
“I’m interested in light, form, and colour. I paint landscapes. I love vast and empty landscapes. It’s probably because of a quest for solitude that helps me to think and reflect on things. …
Coming from the country where summers are short and often rainy I was always inspired by bright sunlight of southern countries – Italy, Spain, Mexico, states like California and Florida. I try to capture that bright light in my paintings.”
Another reason I’m enjoying these pictures so much at the moment is that we are planning a trip to Southern California in October, and Ieva’s work is full of images of the ocean, palm trees, deserts and mountains, modernist architecture and swimming pools – all things that we are hoping to see in abundance.
California surfer’s house
Ieva’s paintings have become a kind of mood board for our holiday, providing inspiration and keeping us going – it still seems an age away! Her work is also particularly intriguing as she paints in two styles. Ieva explains:
“I work in realism, as well as abstract style. Abstract painting probably comes from the fact that I always wanted to be an architect, but never pursued this dream. I was not very good at algebra in school, but geometry always fascinated me. It also made sense to me. My abstract paintings are like complicated geometry tasks for me. In paintings, I build structures, erase parts of them, change them, then rebuild them. I love it! It never gets boring! I also think that I show the structured side of myself in these paintings.
Realism is equally natural for me – I received very classical art education from early age of twelve at Art School in Riga and later in Latvian Academy of Art’s in Riga. I have grown to accept this dual form of self expression. Creativity most of the time can’t be put in a box with a single name on it.”
By the Pool
House in the desert
If I’m honest, these images are also a kind of mood board for my dream house – an airy, light, modernist space looking out to sea .. and can I be greedy and have mountains too, when I look in the opposite direction?
Orange blanket
Ieva is one of the artists featured in the Saatchi Online interview series “From the studio of …” where you can find out more about her and see more of her work.
Saatchi Online is a global online gallery for the work of emerging artists, and for me one of its best points, apart from the vast collection of art in all styles that is added to every week, is that many artists sell prints of their work as well as the originals, which makes their work incredibly accessible and affordable. Plus the originals fall into a very wide price range – the artists themselves set their own prices and manage their own portfolios. A great example, I think, of one of the many good things to have emerged from the global digital marketplace.
Images: Saatchi Online
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