Greg Baker marks 75th exhibition with Oases, Places of Calm and Contemplation at Old Customs House, Fremantle

Greg Baker is compelled to paint, which goes a long way in explaining how the prolific artist is reaching his 75th exhibition milestone with Oases, Places of Calm and Contemplation.

The 74-year-old Coogee resident’s latest and largest exhibition in years features 41 works, in both oils and pastels, echoing the WA coast with local landscapes from Burns Beach, Cottesloe and Coogee to Fremantle, Swan River, Woodman Point and Rottnest Island.

“I’ve always painted from a young age,” Baker says.

“I attended art college as a teenager studying graphic design but found it restrictive. It took a while, but I realised I had to paint, compelled to paint and my first solo exhibition eventuated in 1978.”

He has since averaged one to two solo exhibitions per year, teaching and travelling the world, exhibiting on four continents and winning several awards.

From painting in a boat in the bays of Rottnest or imagining himself soaring over the Swan River with pelicans, Baker captures the beauty of his surroundings with every brushstroke.

“I find the gestural line very important in my technique and in the mediums I use,” he explains.

“Although my subjects are figurative, they do have a strong impressionist feel.”

Baker says his latest collection of works was inspired by his desire to observe and create places of calm in an otherwise chaotic world.

His hope is for others to experience their own sense of emotional connection, not just because the paintings are a pleasant image but their ability to become a special place of their own.

While Baker admits he is yet to plan his next exhibition, he never intends to stop.

“As long as I live, I will have a paintbrush in my hand,” he remarks.

“I’ll probably die with the smell of turps up my nose, and I’ll be draped over my easel.”

Oases, Places of Calm and Contemplation is at Atrium Gallery, Old Customs House, Fremantle, August 29 to September 4, open noon to 4pm daily.