Arts & Culture
Artist explores the humorous
side of painting
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Jan Bayer often includes a visual joke in her paintings. |
Jan Bayer loves to hear people laugh at her oil paintings.
“When I hear someone giggle, I know they get my art,” she said.
A professional artist for 25 years, Bayer has a knack for painting works with a humorous edge that often feature a visual joke. One such painting depicts a cow skull wearing sunglasses, which Bayer painted after Georgia O’Keefe’s art inspired her during a New Mexico visit.
“I combined what I was fascinated by in O’Keefe’s work and painted an homage to her,” Bayer said. “A piece from one of her paintings is reflected in the cow’s sunglasses, and that’s why I titled it “Georgia on My Mind.”
Bayer’s inspiration comes from both her worldly travels and her everyday life. One of her oils depicts a Polish window filled with geraniums and lace curtains while other paintings feature such commonplace scenes as an open washing machine filled with sudsy clothes and a sink full of dishes.
According to Bayer, her humorous edge comes from the way that she sees the world.
“I paint what I see,” she said, “and I see things from different angles.”
A restful day in a swimming pool inspired one of Bayer’s favorite works. While floating on her back one afternoon, she looked up and saw the underside of a diving board with the lifeguard’s toes hanging over it and a beach umbrella shading him.
“I saw that the diving board had all these wonderful reflections, and I said ‘this is a painting and asked him to pose for a photo,’” she said.
Her humorous painting “On Guard” was the result.
Anyone with a poorly framed travel photo showing someone minus their head might identify with Bayer’s “Self Portrait in Thailand” that depicts her seen from the neck down.
A newcomer to North County, Bayer is a member of the Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild. She has shown her work extensively in Maryland, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. and looks forward to placing her work in more Southern California galleries.
She did her early art training at the Philadelphia College of Art, but Virginia artist Diane Tessler proved to be her most influential mentor.
“I saw one of her paintings and said ‘that’s how I want to paint,’” Bayer said. “She’s a realist and does a variety of subject matter.”
While studying with Tessler for five years, Bayer found that she was most influenced by the way Tessler used light and vivid color.
Bayer also studied at the Cecil-Graves Studio in Florence, Italy, for three months. There, she learned traditional Renaissance painting techniques.
“My classes were five days a week and it really developed my eye,” she said. “We started out in charcoal in the studio and then worked on landscapes in different locations in the hills.”
Bayer is passionately attracted to paintings that feature water.
“I’ve painted water in just about every form, including a swimming pool, a bathtub, a washing machine, a fountain and the ocean, and the reflections of the colors are just magical,” she said.
Bayer is so taken with her most famous painting featuring water, “Bathers in Budapest,” that she won’t consider selling it. It won two first prizes in the Cole juried show last year.
“It’s a bird’s-eye view of two very large women in a Budapest spa pool,” she said. “The water is translucent and flowing, and it appeals to a lot of people, but it’s my baby and I can’t sell it.”
Bayer is currently working on two paintings. One depicts a very old Singer sewing machine like her grandmother used to use. Another focuses on a Laguna Beach fountain that she liked.
Now that she’s in California, Bayer enjoys painting outdoors more and finds it a blessing to be here because of all the golden sunlight.
“Being here by this coastline has really inspired me to do more plein air painting,” she said. “I have never lived in such beauty.”
Bayer even devised a way to continue working outdoors when the weather is less than perfect. After hiring a woodworker to adapt a pochade box (a small traveling easel and palette) to her specifications, Bayer invented drive-in painting.
“There are spots along the coast where the parking lot is right on the beach or the cliff, and you can just drive in, get in the passenger side, put the pochade box on your lap, open the door, tape up a sun umbrella and paint from the car,” she said.
To view Bayer’s work, visit her Web site at www.sdvag.net/B/JanBslide.htm.
NOW PLAYING |
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Terence Howard and Jodie Foster in 'The Brave One.' |
In her movies “Flight Plan,” “The Accused” and “Panic Room,” Jodie Foster has quickly become the queen of vigilante or fight-for-your life movies.
While her performance in those movies ranged from mediocre to good, Foster’s portrayal of radio talk show host Erica Bain in “The Brave One” is exceptional. Erica has a fascinating job. She prowls the streets of New York City day or night, carrying a tape machine and listening for sounds of the city which she can spin stories around.
As she plays those sounds on her show “Street Walk,” Erica’s ability to create captivating stories with her beguiling voice captures a faithful audience and earns accolades from her boss Carol (Mary Steenburgen).
Everything seems right in Erica’s world, including her personal life. She’s deeply in love and about to be married to David Kirmani (Naveen Andrews). One night while walking in Central Park with David and her dog, they’re cornered by a group of thugs who capture the dog, then begin to taunt Erica and David with threats to harm the animal. Finally, these thugs brutally beat Erica and David. Although Erica clings to life on a slim thread, David doesn’t make it.
Once healed from her physical wounds, it’s the emotional ones Erica can’t handle. Not only does she suffer profound loss over the love of her life; she can’t get the brutal attack out of her mind. Where she once found beauty and unforeseen uniqueness in her city, Erica now only feels fear and dread. Waiting on NYPD detective Sean Mercer (Terrence Howard) to crack the case and find her attackers, she can’t work and becomes a recluse,.
As the wheels of justice turn slowly, Erica finds new strength in her own pursuit. After recognizing one of the attackers in a lineup, she refuses to ID him. She purchases an unregistered gun and sets out to avenge David’s death herself.
During another attack, she’s forced to defend herself by killing someone. The first seconds after produce an earthquake of emotions. Frozen in a time warp that’s followed by thoughts over what the right thing to do is, Erica walks away. Like new oxygen to her soul, it’s the first inkling she can survive and be in control of her life again. Is this all because of the cold steel between her hands?
In no time at all Erica is a stalking night shadow, watching anything and everything that appears evil, and there are more killings. The word “vigilante” is broadcast on the airwaves and tops the daily newspapers. Mercer is going through the same pain of separation as Erica since his wife has left him; and he and Erica become close. When he begins to realize all is not right with his friend, the detective faces some tough decisions.
Foster comes across as so commanding here that it’s enthralling. She layers her character so well the audience is constantly engaged in her dilemma — sometimes rooting for her, and at other times aghast at what she does and curious about what the outcome will be.
“Howard is also exceptional. His role in “Hustle & Flow” earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and brought recognition to his talents. As Detective Mercer, he reminds us of his acting abilities. Although this character has minimal range in his storyline, Howard heightens Mercer’s moral conduct and creates curiosity concerning how he will handle different situations.
Director Neil Jordon does an excellent job of keeping the film taut and suspenseful, and the movie’s plot is enhanced by exceptional cinematography and locations.
My only disappointment with “The Brave One” involves the ending, which doesn’t ring true to me. It’s my one complaint about this otherwise excellent film.
