Baird’s paintings are evocative, painterly depictions of city vistas that are reminiscent of the modernist practice of reducing forms to planes and making the ‘right’ mark.
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Baird has stayed true to her attraction to the landscape as subject throughout her painting career in the face of contemporary culture and new media – she is a painter’s painter.
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Baird works with the traditional painting mediums of oil on canvas or linen, and primarily paints directly from life. Observations, visual discoveries and random moments are captured in her large canvases.

The current body of work Baird is producing has seen the artist creating images that are analytical and architectural in their construction yet beautiful and soft in application.

The geographical influence of growing up in Sydney, with its abundance of light, water and energy, has informed Baird’s practice. Intuitively, as a young artist, Baird was drawn to fellow landscape painters such as Brett Whiteley, Lloyd Rees, Fred Williams and Sidney Nolan as she painted, in situ, in locations such as Sirius Cove, Middle Cove and Bondi Beach.

In 1989 a shift in direction emerged. “ After moving to the inner City of Sydney a whole new world opened up to me and in turn so did the types of artworks I found interesting. A visit to a retrospective, at the AGNSW, of Kevin Connor’s work seduced me with its luscious paint and expressive application… that was the beginning of a new journey”

In 1992 Baird studied at the New York Studio School, which exposed her to the work of the Bay Area artists of San Francisco and specifically Richard Diebenkorn. The New York school was rigorous in its instruction with a focus on drawing and painting directly from life.
“ ..my time there was short, however it profoundly changed the way I work”

After a year of study at the National Art School in East Sydney in 1997, Baird repositioned herself, her work and painting career to fully explore and embrace the urban experience.

Snapshots and glimpses over roofs, out of grimy windows, through balcony railings and of side alleys - bathed in soft Sydney light are rendered by the artist in a tactile and painterly manner. The works are solid and underpinned by formal conventions yet are soft and delicate at the same time typifying the current intangible mood of the times and the artist as she forges ahead into the 21st century.

Passage written by Carolina Totterman 2004