Gayle Bard is an artist who works in an array of mediums, from metal and cement, oils, and watercolors, to three-dimensional installations—elaborate interior environments seen through peepholes. She is best known, however, for her evocative landscape paintings which celebrate earth, trees, clouds, and water—yet never include a human figure. “If there are figures, the viewer really can’t get in,” Gayle has said. “I want to create an experience, the more visceral the better.” She accomplishes this, in part, by intentionally violating conventions of landscape painting, by raising the point of view, or by inserting water or some other kind of barrier at the bottom of the picture. The result may suggest an unattainable landscape or one which initially seems serene but is still slightly unsettling. Her subtle subversions of our expectations raise questions about the land, and about our perception of the land that intrigue contemporary audiences.
Gayle is a driving force in the Bainbridge Island arts community. She generously passes along to others her expertise and knowledge of the rules, together with her encouragement to break them to fulfill one’s vision.