Anne Baldock: Sea Change

Recent landscapes that are influenced by ‘change’ in more ways than one.

With ‘change’ at the heart of these works, it is difficult to ignore the words ‘climate change’ that frequently appear in news articles, following extreme weather events. I feel a sense of helplessness but also awe in the power of nature. These paintings are a visual expression of the feelings and emotions that the interaction between weather, land and sea evoke in me.

To achieve this, I have experimented with changes in scale, colour, and style. Using a limited colour palette and more gestural painterly techniques with various mark-making tools, I have tried to capture the mood of the moment. The result is a stripped-back version of a scene, that minimises detail and evidence of human habitation.

Changes on a global scale in the last year have curbed our ability to travel freely, forcing us to find new pleasure in what the local surrounds have to offer. I have always appreciated the dramatic beauty of this region and continue to be influenced by the changing light and variable weather that affects this landscape. While many local residents grumble about the mist that descends over Dunedin, I relish the occasions when it envelops the Otago harbour, quietening everything. The wrestle between sun and mist is magical.