Ben Bauer

Quiet optimism and subtle new beginnings, Ben Bauer shares his journey so far.

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1980, Ben Bauer grew up in a family that introduced him to the pleasures of outdoor living, whether enjoying a summer weekend in the countryside or participating in annual duck-hunting expeditions. Ben Bauer’s deep roots in the landscape of forests and high plains in the upper midwest are the source of his commitment to “recording a natural history” in his paintings. He’s been exhibiting since 2004, has won numerous awards and his works are held in pride of place in homes all over the world.

Late Fall Minnesota, 10x10, Oil on ACM 2020

Tonalism.com: Do you call or think of yourself as a tonalist? How or why / why not?

Ben Bauer: I do consider myself a Tonalist but I’m not 100% pinned to that.  Quite honestly, Tonalism is where I started back in college but didn’t even know it then.  To me, as a youngster, it was just another “ism” and I was learning how to paint, really. Under the tutelage of wonderful professors (Charles Lume, Tamara Brantmeier and Bryan Ritchie) at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, I was pushed, pulled and twisted into saying more with my work. Finding a voice. The voice was developed in the sensitivities of Tonalism that still follow me to my current work, if not more now than ever before.

Tonalism.com: What is your definition of Tonalism?

Ben Bauer: I feel that there are many ways one can define Tonalism. Personally, Tonalism is quiet optimism. To me, that’s the best kind.  An artist creates work based on a need to say what they are feeling.  I feel that saying things quietly and subtly gets the message across in a different way, maybe better in ways.  Using toned down color palettes, techniques and composition lead to a contemplative head space for people to escape to.  I am drawn to gray days, dusk and dawn and the dark.  This isn’t because of melancholy, it’s because it gives a sense that something new is coming, whether it’s night or day - something new awaits, the patterns of living.  That’s why I define it as a quiet optimism. 

Late Afternoon in March, Lowry, MN, 26x24 - Oil on Panel 2019

Tonalism.com: What’s been the story of your journey as an artist?

Ben Bauer: I started painting ducks and other game birds.  I grew up hunting and fishing and those experiences exposed me to the elements of the natural world.  Most often gray and cold days, physically feeling miserable but found great relief in the reward of being part of it. I feel that is where my love for the nuance came to be.  Weather patterns, light, dusk and dawn interactions are a huge focus of my work and those experiences fueled me.  

Once I left college, I had a start but didn’t know what was ahead of me. I’m lucky enough to have inherited a great work ethic from my upbringing.  That lead me right down the path of my next chapter of being an "artist now”. I studied, studied and studied…  I started in on the plein air movement and did nothing but that for about 3 or 4 years.  I studied under a few great artists and just painted and painted. 

One thing an artist and friend, Marc Hanson, told me was: “Just paint and let all other things fall in place”.  I spent about 3 years focused on painting outside and focusing more and more on studio work, taking that advice in earnest.  That was a time where my voice started to become tonal because it felt more natural to me.  I studied Emil Carlsen, George Inness, T. Allen Lawson, George Carlson, Nancy Bush, Quang Ho, David Sharpe, Marc Hanson, James Coe, and the list continues to grow.  Their work has an impression on me but never wanted to copy what they were doing. I wanted to say similar things but in my own way.  All the contemporary greats live in the rather picturesque areas of the US and their work says it.  I live in the upper Midwest and its engrained in who I am and I want to focus in on that.  

Large, medium and small formats in the studio

Tonalism.com: What are the main objectives of your current approach?

Ben Bauer: In Western Minnesota we have such a wide variety of elements within a 500 mile radius,  glacial paths, the boreal forests in Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, Lake Superior and most recently, a favorite, the “driftless” area of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.  These areas have a variety of forms, patterns, light and a way of life for the local people.  I have found recent inspiration in farm portraits at night and tonal landscapes with hunters in the background.  

Nocturne painting give me a variety of sensory responses, mysterious or calming; that quiet optimism again.  Farmers are some of the hardest and most devoted people around us. That sincere devotion to making a living is very inspiring and using their livelihood is a great way to pay reverence to that.  The recent landscapes containing hunters are a way for me to get back to my roots. Creating a sense of place that I hope many can relate to.  I like the play of the soft landscapes in late fall in Minnesota with hunters walking the fields.  Its more about the natural world than the sport.

Buffalo County Nordic Star

Tonalism.com: What was the actual process or series of events that led you to paint as you do now?

Ben Bauer: Developing a path to go down as a painter was an exceptionally fun process but isn’t easy.  I have long had an appreciation of working hard to get results.  I study ALL the time, lunch breaks, nightly artist searches online, books, magazines, podcasts, etc…  Again my main focus is to see what others are doing and how they make certain elements of a painting work.  Most recently the artists I find myself drawn to are figurative painters and I’m a landscape painter.  

The “bones” of a beginning

Tonalism.com: Please describe a little bit of your painting process.

Ben Bauer: Most paintings start on lead primed aluminum composite material or ACM.  I prime with two coats, building a unique but handmade texture.  My palette: titanium white/silver-lead white, ultra-marine blue, cobalt blue, phtalo blue, alizarin crimson, cad red light, cad lemon pure, yellow ochre, cold black, viridian.  I also love variations of the Zorn palette.  I tone my surfaces; cool if it’s a warmer scene and warm if is a cooler scene.  Mostly in cold black and red or ochre.  Once my idea is solidified, its “bones” as I call them are rather loosely added or methodically in drawing based on complexity.  I am a studio painter these days as I love letting intuition take over, something that is hard in the moment.  

I consider the bones to be structure of the concept. The shapes that create movement and composition of the painting. Honestly a lot of my work is based off memory to places experienced representing them through paint. Reference materials serve as a base for most ideas that leads to intuition once a painting starts working. Once I feel that it is working I try to envision the path to the end and try to match that the best I can.

Pushing and pulling abstract shapes

Pushing and pulling abstract shapes into sense is when the intuition comes forward.  I work when I can and try to get my session to a point where it can stop and let the painting breathe until I can go back into it.  If it is a smaller painting I go right at and let it flow out.  This is where the aforementioned aspects come into play.  Letting a painting breathe a bit or doing a study allows me to assess what needs to be worked on.  I am always using tools such as mirrors and photos to see it in a different way to ensure that things are progressing well.  I love the old adage of a mirroring showing you what you need to resolve still.  If it looks off in reverse you need to assess.

Tonalism.com: Could you name any specific influences on your work?

Ben Bauer: Contemporary influences would be Len Chmiel for composition, Clyde Aspevig for paint surface quality and T. Allen Lawson for all encompassing aspects of painting/drawing.  Deceased influences; Francis Lee Jaques, Hugh Bolton Jones and George Sotter.  Patreon is a great new online system that I am following many artist on.  Marc Delassio has a great group of instruction videos.
 

Tonalism.com: Any advice for the aspiring painters / tonalists? 

Ben Bauer: The one aspect I love the most of preparing ideas and reference work is photography.  The tools at our disposal are more advanced than ever before.  Play with concept before the act of doing.  Find the mind’s eye and everything else follows, or should.

Minnesota Fall

Tonalism.com: Saving the big question for last: What is art’s purpose in the world? And/or is there anything I didn’t ask that you want people to know about your work and/or your personal practice?

After the Reception, 1887 Douglas Volk

Ben Bauer: If one had the opportunity to ponder at Douglas Volk’s, after the Reception, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN, you would understand art as a whole. Making something from nothing is a VERY hard thing to do. This painting brings me to that reception and I can feel what it may have been like, being there.  An amazing experience every time I see it in person. I feel that when an artist can do that it provides a truth we cannot find or locate in a split second of our daily life, nor do some even want to. That is the role of the painter, bringing us there. It’s a quiet optimism that draws us to experiences, past and present and even imaginary…