Riverside artist Barbara Sistak Baur has embraced several legendary influences during her burgeoning career. Stylistically, she admires the French painter Henri Matisse and his expressive use of color, while philosophically she concurs with Vincent van Gogh, who once said, “I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.”
Reflective of a title for one of her pieces, “Sweeter by the Dozen,” Sistak Baur’s journey of artistic self-discovery began 12 years ago, and the experience has been as richly textured as her artwork.
“I was at a point in my life where I needed something for me that I always wanted to do,” Sistak Baur said. “I picked up some art books and taught myself. I decided to take up art from the aspect of skill mastery, but it’s very difficult to do. Ultimately, you never master it, because there’s always a new thing that can be done or tried. I can always push myself to do better. It’s very fun and satisfying.” Like van Gogh, a Dutch post-impressionist, Sistak Baur clearly identifies with the aforementioned tenet of “artistic self-discovery.”
“It’s hard to use labels in terms of my style,” Sistak Baur said. “I don’t want to be boxed into anything. It’s fun and interesting to do all kinds of things, whether it’s figure drawing or more sculptural, conceptual things. I would call my work an expressionistic type of painting.”
From Oct. 4 through Oct. 27, Sistak Baur will display one of her paintings, “Grand Bakery,” which is an acrylic painting of bakery delights, at the 10th annual Chicago Art Open. Held at the Iron Studios in Bridgeport, the exhibition features more than 300 prominent, mid-career and emerging professional artists and is the largest gathering of its kind for Chicago artists.
Using the impasto (very thick) painting technique, Sistak Baur hopes “Grand Bakery” evokes all the viewer’s senses when seeing the delectable collection of cookies, breads and fruits on canvass.
“Obviously, the painting can make people hungry,” said Sistak Baur with a laugh. “I felt that at the beginning as well, but as I became more involved in the work, I didn’t feel that as much. The use of impasto allows for very rich and luscious textures which emulates the luscious looks and smells of a bakery.”
Prior to her upcoming debut at the Chicago Art Open, Sistak Baur has shown her art at various exhibitions like the prestigious Women’s Works show in Woodstock, Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, along with public art displays/shows in Algonquin and St. Charles.
Married to Tom Baur, a Riverside resident since 1969, the couple is very active within the community as members of the Riverside Arts Center and Riverside Dancing Club. While she primarily works out of her studio in Island Lake, Sistak Baur loves the artistic stimuli and camaraderie Riverside provides in terms of natural beauty and cultural opportunities.
“I joined the Riverside Arts Center several years ago and I take classes from time to time,” she said. “I have received great instruction from [Riverside Arts Center instructor] Tom McDonald. He’s been a great coach and mentor in helping me push my skills. My husband and I just love Riverside. Having a place in Riverside is a way of keeping in touch with our great friends [here].”
In the couple’s Riverside condo, which is adorned with Sistak Baur’s paintings and also some pastel-painted walls, she displays one of her more local pieces, a rendition of the former Chew Chew Cafe outdoor eating area.
While Sistak Baur’s “Grand Bakery” piece will be the sole item on display and for sale at the Chicago Art Open, her assorted works comprise an eclectic tapestry of design. Sistak Baur, who studied fine arts at Columbia College (Mo.), has created sketch drawings using charcoal as well as sculptures with found (or physical) objects like keys on top of the canvass.
“I find sculptures more fun because you can really stretch your mind and go out there,” she said. “Certain people have a creative bent no matter what they do in life. They bring it into their jobs, their lives. I have a been a creative person all my life.”
For more information about the Chicago Art Open and Sistak Baur, visit www.caconline.org. She also has a blog called “Fresh Paint,” which can be accessed at barbarabaur.blogspot.com. And of course, the Riverside resident will be at the Chicago Art Open in October.
“The Chicago Art Open is going to be very exciting,” Sistak Baur said. “The exhibition attracts attention from art representatives, art galleries and the entire art community. It’s down in the city where you know all the action is happening. That’s where I want to be.”
For Sistak Baur, a self-taught artist on a journey of expression, her next stop in the big city surely promises more adventures in acrylic painting.