Spartanburg artist Bailie has created paintings designed to make the viewer feel the “fun, whimsical and sometimes creepy” nature of the characters he creates. These oil works will be on exhibit in “Copyright” Oct. 1 through 26 in Gallery III of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.
An artist’s reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, as part of Spartanburg ArtWalk. The reception and exhibition viewing are free and open to the public. The pieces in the show will be offered for purchase with prices ranging from $500 to $900.
“I like creating things that don’t exist. Playing with shadow and light is always fun and challenging, especially with no subject matter to reference. It constantly challenges your ability,” says Bailie, a native of Augusta, Georgia. “I kind of swing back and forth on serious and whimsical, colorful and monochromatic. It seems to be a theme I did not intend.”
The show is a “third morph of an exhibit,” he says. “It’s a third coming of an exhibit I started in 2020 that changed direction several times and landed here.”
In addition to his artwork, Bailie has released a CD of live music, “Splatterpunx Songs in R Flat,” to which he put around a disintegrating art installation concert. He also has written a novel, “Shadowland,” and engineered “The Upstate Book Project” several times.
Bailie, has been creating professionally for over 20 years. Well-versed in many artistic outlets, he works in fine art painting, sculpting, pottery and murals, many of which can be seen decorating Spartanburg as well as all over the state. He leads classes in his own studio as well as various other venues. He has taught at the Spartanburg Art Museum, South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, and currently teaches through the Wofford College Lifelong Learning Program. He has served as assistant director of the COLORS Art Program and was a five-year resident artist at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind. Bailie is also on the South Carolina Arts Commission Roster of Approved Artist in Education, which ensures quality education in the classroom as well as expertise in educational residences. His work can be seen in various venues in Spartanburg as well as online at bailiestudios.com.
Bailie says of ACS: “I love it. It is a wonderful place to exhibit, and they support all forms of art.”