Lynne Baab • Sunday November 13 2022
I get a lot of kind and encouraging compliments about my blog posts. Many of them go like this: “Lynne, I really enjoy your blog. You write good stuff, but your husband’s watercolors are outstanding, amazing, wonderful! He is so talented!” One friend said he enjoys trying to figure out why I choose the watercolor for each post. I truly love that so many of you enjoy his art so much, and I’m happy to have a sense of teamwork with Dave in these blog posts.
Dave has an art exhibition going on right now at our church, Bethany Presbyterian in Seattle, called “Time Slows: sketches of a socially-distanced Seattle.” For the exhibition, we prepared a Q and A and a bio. I thought you might enjoy this glimpse of Dave’s philosophy about his art.
I also wanted to let you know I have started creating cards on Zazzle using Dave’s art. If you particularly like one of his paintings you see on my blog, let me know and I’ll create a card using that image. Write me at LMBaab [at] aol.com. Cards using his watercolors are available here.
Q and A with Dave Baab, watercolor artist
Q: For watercolor artists, what does “sketching” mean?
Dave: Painting on site, using watercolor paints. I have a travel palette and a stool that I use. Sometimes I paint standing up. I often start a sketch outside and complete it at home using photos.
Q: Why sketch versus take a photo?
Dave: Sketching asks me to slow down and observe the scene before me closely, emphasizing the parts that excite me or lift my heart to worship. Sketching captures a moment in time at a specific place where I am reacting spontaneously to what I see. This slows down time. For me, beauty captures the awe I feel when I encounter the Living God in creation and in Jesus Christ through the scriptures and prayer. “One thing I ask of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire at his temple” (Psalm 27:4). I sketch scenes that make me stop and say, “Wow, thank you, Lord,” and one to two hours of paying attention to shapes, values and colors helps cement that emotion into my heart.
Q: How did sketching help you cope with isolation and discouragement during the pandemic?
Dave: Art reconnected me with creation. Being among other people outdoors, even though I didn’t interact with them very much, gave me a sense of community. I found places to perch off trails and sidewalks, where people weren’t passing close by. Sketching helped me fight off depression and feelings of isolation. This really was art therapy, bringing me back to God’s beautiful creation and my place in it. I feel whole again after I sketch.
Bio:
Dave Baab is a watercolor artist and a member of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Seattle. Dave grew up in Ohio, and as a child and early teen he often drew cars, especially 1950s models with fins. He lived most of his adult life in Seattle, where he taught and practiced dentistry. He often drew teeth to illustrate dental procedures for his patients and his students at the University of Washington Dental School. He took his first watercolor class in 1998 and found it so discouraging that he didn’t paint for a year. He took his second class in 1999, had a breakthrough, and began to paint frequently. He sold numerous paintings in the early 2000s. He retired from dentistry and moved to New Zealand 2007 when his wife, Lynne, took a position as lecturer at the University of Otago in Dunedin. In his decade in New Zealand, he was an artist member of the Otago Art Society, and he sold many paintings and prints in the Art Society gallery. Upon his return to Seattle in 2017, he has continued to paint scenes in and around Seattle. He enjoys sketching with the Seattle Urban Sketchers group.
(Illustration for this post: Nyhaven, Copenhagen, one of Dave’s watercolors you can find on a card on Zazzle.)
Some related posts:
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Lynne M. Baab, Ph.D., is an author and adjunct professor. She has written numerous books, Bible study guides, and articles for magazines and journals. Lynne is passionate about prayer and other ways to draw near to God, and her writing conveys encouragement for readers to be their authentic selves before God. She encourages experimentation and lightness in Christians spiritual practices. Read more »
Lynne is pleased to announce the release of her two 2024 books, both of them illustrated with her talented husband Dave's watercolors. She is thrilled at how good the watercolors look in the printed books, and in the kindle versions, if read on a phone, the watercolors glow. Friendship, Listening and Empathy: A Prayer Guide guides the reader into new ways to pray about the topics in the title. Draw Near: A Lenten Devotional guides the reader to a psalm for each day of Lent and offers insightful reflection/discussion questions that can be used alone or in groups.
Another recent book is Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian Life, available in paperback, audiobook, and for kindle. Lynne's 2018 book is Nurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care for the Twenty-First Century, and her most popular book is Sabbath-Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest (now available as an audiobook as well as paperback and kindle). You can see her many other book titles here, along with her Bible study guides.
You can listen to Lynne talk about these topics: empathy, bringing spiritual practices to life. Sabbath keeping for recent grads., and Sabbath keeping for families and children.
Lynne was interviewed for the podcast "As the Crow Flies". The first episode focuses on why listening matters and the second one on listening skills.
Here are two talks Lynne gave on listening (recorded in audio form on YouTube): Listening for Mission and Ministry and Why Listening Matters for Mission and Ministry.
"Lynne's writing is beautiful. Her tone has such a note of hope and excitement about growth. It is gentle and affirming."
— a reader
"Dear Dr. Baab, You changed my life. It is only through God’s gift of the sabbath that I feel in my heart and soul that God loves me apart from anything I do."
— a reader of Sabbath Keeping
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