Marc Baur

You might say I was born into the arts. My father, Albert Baur, was a successful artist, who studied with Frederick Varley of the Group of Seven and taught at the Ontario College of Art. Lynn Baur, my mother, was an award-winning sculptor and one-time noted fashion designer, who spent many years in television, heading up the costume departments of the Canadian Broadcast Corporation in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver.

Perhaps it's not surprising that I have split my creative efforts between the performing and visual arts. For thirty years I worked within the film industry as an accomplished actor, writer, producer, award-winning acting coach, and artistic director of a prominent college for the performing arts.

As a visual artist, I studied graphic design at the Vancouver School of Arts, which transitioned into Emily Carr College of Art. After which I opened in partnership, Duo Graphic Design and then my own art shop Baurhaus Graphics. Over the next few years, I worked my way up to Art Director at WMS Publishing and developed a presence within the newspaper industry.

In 2010 I became utterly devoted to my fine art and explored the technique of Chigiri-e, the ancient Japanese art form of creating with paper. When I moved to Bowen Island in 2011, a rare jewel in the Salish Sea, I was inspired by the natural beauty of British Columbia's rain coast. Now a resident of Salt Spring Island, I strive to share through my work, the great love I have for the Canadian west coast and the Gulf Islands.

STYLE:
My open impressionistic style is visually charged with texture, colour, and light. I use thick layers of exotic, acid-free paper, infused with a kaleidoscope of brilliant and colourful dyes, to 'paint' my landscapes. The effect stirs strong emotions, as well as an almost irresistible urge to physically connect with the piece by running your hand over the surface of the work.

This is not collage, but my impressionist interpretation of Chigiri-e, an ancient technique of creating with paper that originated in feudal Japan. As a modern Canadian contemporary, I have pioneered my unique process that does not use paste. Rather, I saturate each torn or cut piece of paper with crystal polymer, then, when finished, the entire work is layered with multiple coats of ultraviolet protectant. This creates art that is not only ageless but compelling, due to the enhanced density of colour, seen through many layers of high-gloss medium.