Laine Bachman

Laine Bachman (b. 1974, USA)

Laine Bachman was a very inquisitive child growing up in the rust belt of Ohio. Her mother was an avid gardener and Bachman loved exploring the plant life in the woods and the creek near her home. Ever curious, she would want to investigate beyond the easily visible, such as turning over rocks to discover the hidden worms and insects beneath them.

Bachman’s compositions are filled with the real and the mythological. Her fascination with plants and nature, along with an interest in mythology and folklore, is the fuel for her imagination. There are almost always plants and flowers, sometimes forest critters interacting with fungi, and occasionally a figure that has a touch of self-portraiture that seems to be one with nature. There are conglomerations of creatures that are posed within a setting of trees and other natural elements.

The colors she uses are vibrant, the scenes are intensely layered while the paint application is flat. There’s a sense of depth while also feeling like the foliage is pressed right up against the invisible screen between painting and viewer. In her large 42 x 19 inch piece, Red Sky, there are strong Japonisme characteristics. The composition appears to be composed of layers of botanical elements that layer their way up the picture plan. While Japonisme work is extremely flat, there is a sense of depth in the way the tree cuts through the foliage and is visually in front of the hills and red night sky. 

Her work is intricately detailed, where one can scan the composition and pick out innumerous bits of information such as types of insects, leaves, stones, and birds. The setting she constructs plays a role in the overall feeling of each piece. In Forest Below Midnight, there is the dreamy gradient of purples in the upper portion of the composition where bats fly off in the distance. Below, although it’s nighttime, the forest is abuzz with life. Sowbugs skitter on the log, a snail slides along a leaf, and a possum carries her babies on her back through the trees.

Some of her works like Toad Wish, include a nimbus or halo as a focal point. They are metallic and glint when viewed moving from side to side. In Toad Wish, she uses purple instead of the traditional gold for the nimbus. This takes the piece to a contemporary state while also allowing the green toad and clothing to pop against the background.

Bachman is a prolific artist, who can be found painting in her Columbus, Ohio studio.

Education
1997    Columbus College of Art and Design; BFA in Painting

Selected Exhibitions

2023    Eden, Revisited - Bender Gallery, Asheville, NC                                                             

2021    Harpies, Hybrids, and Hidden Worlds- Bender Gallery, Asheville, NC 

2019    Surroundings: Laine Bachman and Julie Woodrow- Sherrie Gallerie, Columbus, Ohio 

2019    Art Connect- 13th Havana Biennial, Matanzas, Cuba  

2017    Cabinets of Curiosity: The Work of Laine Bachman, Amy Kollar Anderson, and Carrie Longley- Southern Ohio Museum of Art, Portsmouth, Ohio

2016    Second Nature- Sherrie Gallerie, Columbus, Ohio 

2015    The Nature of Things- Sherrie Gallerie, Columbus, Ohio

Museum Exhibitions 
2024    Canton Museum of Art- Canton, Ohio 

2024    Asheville Art Museum- Asheville, North Carolina

"My work has evolved through the years from doing very realistic still life scenes to more surreal and ethereal works.  In the past I’ve worked primarily in watercolor but made the transition to working in acrylics.  There was an immediacy that was similar between the mediums and I found acrylics offered me more freedom in creating the work.  I can layer acrylics much in the same way I do watercolor, but I am able to change and edit things as I go. The painting happens more organically and it has led me to making more complex and layered compositions within my work. It’s a constant endeavor to reach past my own limitations and create works that can speak to someone beyond the surface of what’s really there." - Laine Bachman