November 26, 2019
Garfield Park Conservatory
Our time together in Garfield Conservatory reminded me of how that place and painting lift my spirit in the grey season (i.e., winter), amplified by your good company. Painting with you was my first time making a watercolor since I was a kid. You inspired me to return to the medium, which has brought so much color to the last months.
Our time at the Conservatory, and and again over Zoom at the start of the pandemic, was also a reminder of how painting with a friend is like walking with one; having ours hands or feet in motion can create space for a certain kind of kinship.
January 3, 2020
Lincoln Park Conservatory
March 25, 2020
Remote Chicago
A warm and humid conservatory visit with Leslie resulted in tropical drawings and tropical yearnings…..and such fun!
October 17, 2018
Lincoln Park Conservatory
With a sprawling display of ferns in the background, we both painted what was in front of our faces.
August 13, 2020
Humboldt Park
March 7, 2018
Garfield Park Conservatory
(Garden of the Phoenix)
Illuminating warm late afternoon in June,
Calm, serene plein air painting date was a cure for all anxiety as if we were meditating with calm breathe.
Meandering new site, absorbing new colors, harmonizing wet brush on a soft white paper, painting with tenderness like a dream.
June 25, 2019
Japanese garden Hyde Park
In June, while sheltering in place in our small Ohio town, I set up an online Plein Air painting date with Leslie Baum. My little family was awkwardly adjusting to isolation without school or camp or places to go, and I hoped that taking part in Leslie’s daily ritual of making art at home might help spark our own creative rhythm. My seven-year-old son and I gathered peonies from our backyard and placed them in a vase on our dining room table alongside a few potted plants. We set up our paints, paper, brushes, water, and an iPad. While we painted, we video chatted with Leslie as she did the same. My son made several bright paintings as I made one slow and methodical portrait of a snake plant. We shared our progress and Leslie commented that she often makes several paintings of the same scene, a first one to capture the shapes and shadows, followed by more versions guided by gesture and imagination. My son continued to paint without hesitation or inhibition, in that enviable way children make art without suffering self-consciousness. I took Leslie’s advice and tried a second version of the same snake plant that was less tethered to exactitude and more instinct and impression. That second painting was vibrant and strange and full of life. This lesson was a valuable reminder for me as a writer, teacher, and parent to be looser, to not overthink, to let my brush run, and to see beyond what is before my eyes. —Robin Beth Schaer
June 13, 2020
Remote Wooster Ohio
August 31, 2018
livingroom backyard view Baltimore
When pressed to think about myself as an artist, I often forget that the first thing I believed myself to be was a painter. But I never knew “what to paint” – I think I always thought myself into a corner so to speak, until I wasn’t painting at all. I often find my best creativity comes around when I don’t think or the tools are so foreign to me I can’t get in front of them. My en plein air afternoon with Leslie reminded me that you can just look at what’s in front of you and paint it. And you don’t have to paint the thing, you can paint the color or the light or the feeling in front of you, you can disregard shapes or abandon rendering and just respond.
It is funny how sometimes you just need another person to invite you or lead you somewhere that is right in front of you, completely available all along. It is as though I had been fumbling with too many keys trying to unlock a door that was actually ajar. In any case, I made a painting that day I actually liked. And while I haven’t made another en plein air painting since, writing this reflection reminds me that I have a beautiful lagoon in front of me every day, I should go outside and paint it. The very reason in fact this art school (I work for and live at – Ox-Bow) was founded: to paint the lagoon and landscape around it, en plein air.
August 24, 2019
Little wolf Wisconsin
it was the summer of 2019
at the Poor Farm
i thought to myself, I don’t paint, what would i look at, how would I begin
too many questions clouded my imagination
picking up a brush isn’t second nature to me, how does Leslie do it, so natural – it’s her element, not mine
so many brushes, paints, techniques, to choose from, I was overwhelmed
but leslie invites you to paint, to be, to see what you see, do what you want to do
she opens a space that is welcoming and comfortable, free of judgement
but there I was, judging each awkward swoop after the next
time goes by
one paper after the next
but…before you know it, you start to drift in and out of conversation, your eyes grazing the landscape
you’re taking in the mood and atmosphere
you start playing with the brushes, the paint
you begin creating your own techniques, seeing the macro and micro, the nuances
and you realize, just how peaceful the moment is, how enjoyable
leslie looks on with delight and surprise, pointing out wonderful moments
you are proud of what you made and can’t wait to do more
August 23, 2019
Little wolf Wisconsin
It was so nice to look at plants, water and sky, and to try to capture something of the scene, all while chatting. Like parallel play, we both looked and painted, and chatted about things other than looking and painting, until the rain came and we packed up and ran.
September 27, 2019
Humboldt Park
