Julie C Baer

Many works are available for sale. Please contact me at art@juliebaer.com if you are interested in learning more about purchasing a piece.

Artist statement

“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” Simone Weil, French philosopher and activist

“Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere.“ Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher

My work reflects my close observation of small-scale aspects of local nature, typically overlooked, unsung scenes. I approach with openness and a simultaneous respect for scientific accuracy, aesthetic abstraction, and human spirituality. My interest is exploring the complex design and recurrent pattern inherent in nature: the elaborate life forms on old trees; the luxurious mingling of growth and decay on the forest floor; the quiet storm of life in water; variable skies fragmented by tree canopies. My compositions tend to lack traditional focal points, reflecting the mobile, momentary, sometimes disorienting way we may encounter nature. I paint on paper and on wooden panels and, due to heavily collaged mixed-media elements, the surfaces are craggy and uneven, as though life forms grow from their faces. I try to surprise viewers with unusual views to induce them to look deeply, just as I have done. I hope to stimulate them to respond, “I’ve seen this all my life, but I’ve never really looked at it before." This leads to discovery and agency. Art offers an alternative modality that can illuminate science. Art can attract a wary viewer to approach the consternation of environmental degradation through their eyes and hearts. Art does not provide answers, but rather it causes viewers to wonder and challenges them to inquire. Deep learning can only happen when learners make connections to their personal interests. 

I am exquisitely aware that, though nature is our collective home, human activity has caused irreparable losses of habitat, resources, and species. By revering the beauty of humble local biota, I wish to respond to ecologists’ call for native ecosystem restoration and conservation, and to draw viewers’ attention to how each of us can contribute to rewilding. Furthermore, science shows correlations between time spent in nature and wellbeing. I see my responsibility, thus, as engaging viewers visually and emotionally, leading them to go outdoors and become motivated to learn about how they can contribute to environmental conservation and restoration. 

Artist bio

I am a Bellingham, WA-based mixed-media nature artist with over 40 years of experience. As a teenager struggling with undiagnosed PTSD, artmaking was lifesaving for me, providing a calling, a practice, and a sense of generativity. I attended the Rhode Island School of Design and afterwards worked as a full-time artist–painting, exhibiting, visiting schools, libraries, and synagogues, and publishing two picture books–while raising my sons. In 2007, I returned to school for education, earning a master’s in 2009 (Harvard Graduate School of Education) and a doctorate in 2018 (Northeastern University), focusing on language and literacy for nontraditional and multilingual students. Until 2022, I taught academic writing to students of all ages and backgrounds, from incumbent workers at Boston hospitals to nursing students at UMass Boston and first-year Boston University students. The pandemic brought me back to the studio full-time, transformed. This year, I am participating in Surge, an art/science collaboration through the Museum of Northwest Art, and in 2024 I served as Visiting Artist at the Native Plant Trust in Massachusetts. I have exhibited and sold my work widely. View my work at https://www.juliebaer.com.

Curriculum Vitae

Read an article about my 2024 Visiting Artist Residency from Native Plant Trust magazine

Read a review in Art New England of my Aug 2023 Art House exhibition

Read a review in Art New England of my Aug 2025 Harvard exhibition

Exhibitions

• Museum of Northwest Art, LaConner, WA, “Surge: A Geography of Flow,” Oct 2026 - Jan 2027

• Whatcom Artists Studio Tour, Bellingham, WA, Oct 2026 

• Gallery B612, Seattle, WA, “Fauna Aquatica,” juried group exhibition, Sept-Oct 2026

• Shared Habitat Earth, Boston, MA, “In Praise of Trees,” invitational group show, Sep 2026 - Jun 2027

• Moku Art Studio, “Under the Sea,” juried online group exhibition, May - Dec 2026

• Schack Art Center, Everett, WA, 24th Juried Show 2026 “Present Tense,” juried group exhibition, May-Aug, 2026

• Museum of Northwest Art, LaConner, WA, “MoNA XLV: Sapphire Dream Art Auction,” May 2026

• International Virtual Exhibition Opportunity For Artists, “Earth & Creatures,” virtual exhibition, May 2026

• Vestibule Gallery, Seattle, WA, “Decay,” juried group exhibition, Apr 2026

• Art Now and Natural Resonance, “All We Can Save,” juried online group exhibition, Apr 2026

• Schack Art Center 2026 AEA Exhibition, Everett, WA, “Water Ways: Healing the Circle of Water and Life,” juried group exhibition, Mar-May, 2026

• Gallery B612, Seattle, WA, “Love Letters to Planet Earth,” juried group exhibition, Mar-Apr 2026

• SlipStitch Studios, Seattle, “Vital Structures,” juried group exhibition, Feb-Mar 2026

• Allied Arts of Whatcom County, Bellingham, WA, member show, Feb 2026

• Ten Moir Gallery, Seattle, Blu Sky Artist Award finalist, Feb 2026

• Ten Moir Gallery, Seattle, WA, “Flow,” juried group online exhibition, Finalist award, Jan 2026

• Ten Moir Gallery, Seattle, WA, “Water,” juried group online exhibition, Third Place award, Jan 2026

• CVG Gallery, Bremerton, WA, “2026 CVG Show,” juried group exhibition, Jan 2026

• TAG The Art Gallery, SOWA, Boston, MA, “Unwrapping,” group show, Dec 2025

• Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, “Every Luminous Inch,” solo show, Jun-Aug 2025

• Grow Native Mass, Lexington, MA, “Native Plants, Northeastern Ecosystems,” juried group, Jun-Sep 2025

• TAG The Art Gallery, SOWA, Boston, MA, “The Alchemy of Art and Science,” member show, Jun 2025

• Nave Gallery, Somerville MA, “Watermark,” juried group exhibition, Feb-Mar 2025

• Galatea Gallery, SOWA, Boston, MA, “New England Collective XV,” juried group exhibition, Feb 2025

• TAG The Art Gallery, SOWA, Boston, MA, “The Alchemy of Art and Play,” member exhibition, Jan 2025

• Atlantic Works Gallery, East Boston, MA, “Light and Dark,” member show,  Jan 2025 

• NAWA (National Association of Women Artists), online member show, Nov-Dec 2024

• WGBH Community Canvas digital mural billboard, November 7, 2024

• TAG The Art Gallery, SOWA, Boston, MA, “Transcending Perfection,” member exhibition, Nov 2024

• Native Plant Trust, Framingham, MA, “Regarding Nature,” Visiting Artist solo show, Oct 2024

• TAG The Art Gallery, SOWA, Boston, MA, “Startling Unpredictability,” member show, Aug 2024

• Atlantic Works Gallery, East Boston, MA, “In the Woods,” 2-person show, Apr 2024 

• ICA Boston Watershed, East Boston, MA, “Harboring Creativity,” art fair, Nov 2023

• Art House/Chase Young Gallery, Somerville, MA, “Arboretum,” solo exhibition, Aug-Sept 2023

• Atlantic Works Gallery, East Boston, MA, “20 Years on the Edge,” member group show, July 2023 

• Atlantic Works Gallery, East Boston, MA, “Making Connections,” 4-person show, 2023

• Atlantic Works Gallery, East Boston, MA, “The January Show,” member group show, Jan 2023

• Bengal Bridge Boston, “Unconnected Yet,” online juried group show, Jan 2023

• City of Boston Gallery, “Fay Chandler Emerging Art Exhibition 2022,” juried group show, Sept-Oct 2022

• Louisiana State University, School of Veterinary Medicine, Baton Rouge, LA, “International Exhibition Animals in Art,” juried group show, Sept-Oct 2022    

• Kavanagh Gallery, St. Charles, IL, “On the Wing,” group show, July-Aug 2022

• Armory Center for the Arts Cafe, Somerville MA, “Confluence,” solo exhibition, June-July 2022

• New Art Center, Newton, MA, group show, 2016

• Honan-Allston Boston Public Library, MA, juried group show of artist books, 2006

• Hebrew College, Newton, MA, juried group show, 2006

• Cambridge (MA) Health Alliance, solo show of Souls portraits, 2005

• Bucks County Free Library, Doylestown (PA), solo show of Souls portraits, 2005

• Riverbank Arts, Stockton, NJ, 2004

• Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, 2003

• DeCordova Museum, Lincoln MA, 2003

• Cambridge (MA) Center for Adult Education, solo show of nature paintings and bird icons, 2002

• Kraus Gallery, Moses Brown School, Providence, RI, solo show of nature paintings, 2002

• The Art Connection, Boston, MA 2001

• Cambridge (MA) Multicultural Arts Center, solo show of Souls portraits, 2000

• Plaut Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA, “Spirit and Story,” two-person show of Souls portraits, 2000

• Gallery 79, Swedenborg Library, Boston, MA, “Relics from the Realm of Spirit,” solo show of 2000

• Perkins Gallery, Sroughton, MA 2000

• Starr Gallery, Newton, MA, juried group show, 2000

• Gallery Bershad, Somerville, MA, solo show, 2000

• DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, rotating art loans to corporate members,  2000-2015

• The Art Connection, artwork donations to Boston-area nonprofits, 2000-2015

• Starr Gallery, Newton, MA, juried group show, 2000

• Cooperstown (NY) Art Association, 1999

• University Park Hotel MIT, Cambridge, MA, 1998

• Yeshiva University Museum, New York, NY, solo show of Souls portraits, 1998

• Chuck Levitan Gallery, New York, NY, First Place, Juror: Audrey Flack, 1997

• International Art Expo, The Floating Gallery, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, 1997

• Viridian Gallery, New York, NY, 1997

• Canyon Crossing Gallery, Brattleboro, VT, 1997

• The Visual Club, New York, NY, Finalist, 1996

Publications      

• Love Me Later, Bollix Books, picture book, 2005

• I Only Like What I Like, Bollix Books, picture book 2003

• I have also written and illustrated many other unpublished books for young readers, including Lilly Looking; Maybe; World Here I Am; Long Drink of Water; Trash Bird; Condition One; Ruby Tonight, and Faces of Friends.