Nancy T. Baker: Nothing More, Nothing Less
July 31–August 5, 2026
Granite Gallery, Tenants Harbor
To inquire about works featured below, or to receive additional images and information, please email the artist at info@nancytbaker.com. Additional information regarding shipping times and more can be found at the end of this preview.
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In this world where our attention is being pulled in a million different directions, where same set of facts seem to elicit a myriad of often confusing conclusions, I committed myself to create a series of paintings that are direct and reflect what I see and how I see it. There are instances when I question whether the assumptions and inferences made about artists and their work truly align with the artists’ intentions. I have aimed to paint images that are straight-forward, honest and not likely to be misconstrued.
Say what you will, give them whatever meaning or significance you want, they are the result of the hard work of studying an object or place that I love and making a painting of it.
I don’t make an effort in my own work to address the challenging times we live in, though I admire that impulse in others. Indirectly, however, these pieces are an engaged response to the demands of a technocratic world, where painting something called a “still life” feels like an act of defiance. My own quiet rebellion. It’s enough, for me, to propose that there is transcendence in a vase half full of water, filled with roses, lit in the afternoon sun. That there is inherent significance in capturing the pleasing shape of a building settled in the landscape.
If there is any symbolic or metaphorical meaning attached to the work at all — it’s that there are quiet moments and objects of exquisite beauty waiting patiently for our attention, if we cut out the noise and put our focus on them. I hunger for that.
Nothing more, nothing less.
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Nancy has for decades been drawn to painting, which in high school and college extended to include the study of art history. She explains that painting for her is a constant experiment, as she is energized by new approaches that emerge throughout the process of her work and the study of artists whose work she admires and relates to.
As a young woman she attended the Isabel O’Neill Studio for the Painted Finish in New York, and with those skills established a business of decorative painting creating murals, faux finishes, painted floors and furnishings for private clients and interior designers. While balancing the raising of her family and business demands in Northern Virginia, she renewed her study of fine art at the Corcoran College of Art in Washington, D.C. and Yellow Barn Studio in Glen Echo, Maryland. For years she worked in the plein air tradition and recently has shifted her practice primarily to her studio, where she is able to take the time to develop larger works, using initial studies from life and photographs as reference material.
She was a recipient of a residency at the Vermont Studio Center and has studied extensively with well-known artists of contemporary realism. She has participated in juried Plein Air festivals in Frederick, MD. and Wayne, PA. and enjoyed representation and featured exhibitions at the Metropolitan Gallery in Arlington, VA., Yellow Barn Gallery in MD., Mars Hall Gallery, Craignair Gallery and Granite Gallery in ME.
Nancy has served as a mentor to young artists at Oceanside Middle School, taught children and adults privately in Virginia and completed a mural for Thomaston, where she resides. She also illustrated the award winning children’s book, The First Blade of Sweetgrass, published by Tilbury House in 2021.
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Also on view in the exhibition are works by Miles Merriam. A rising sophomore at Oceanside High School, Miles is an emerging artist whom Nancy had the privilege of mentoring through the ACE/GT program at Oceanside Middle School. Through that program, local artists are paired with students who demonstrate a unique interest and practice in the arts. Nancy and Miles have continued to collaborate and share their work with one another and it is Nancy’s great honor to have Miles exhibit several of his pieces alongside hers in the reception area of the gallery. He works mainly in oil paint and graphite, turning Maine’s natural beauty into his own unique art.
More information about Miles and his work can be found on his website:
“…no one captures the evanescent fragility found in nature more poetically than Nancy Baker’s painstakingly crafted images of utter silence and delicate balance.”
Sale Terms & Conditions
Unless otherwise noted, all works are sold framed. Images of the paintings within their frames are available upon request.
Prices do not include the shipping cost nor the 5.5% Maine sales tax, which will be applied upon checkout. All works will be shipped within two weeks of the exhibition closing date, pending full payment, and will be fully insured with tracking information.
Because of the brevity of the exhibition, works cannot be held or reserved. Preferred payment methods are Venmo, Zelle, or credit card. Cash and checks are accepted, but could delay shipping time, as all works are shipped upon receipt of payment. To purchase a work, please email the artist at info@nancytbaker.com with your full name, phone number, shipping address, and email address, along with the work(s) you are interested in. A payment link will be sent to you via your chosen payment method.
To inquire about works featured within this preview or to receive additional images and information, please email the artist at info@nancytbaker.com. We welcome your questions, thoughts and inquiries! Thank you for taking the time to preview these paintings and we hope they offer you a few peaceful moments in your day.