Sandra Baker-Hinton: 
A love of the outdoors, inspired by growing up in the Appalachian Mountains, guides me and becomes the dominant theme throughout my work. I am constantly exploring, experimenting, and trying new directions and painting techniques whether on paper or canvas with the various water media materials that I use. My paintings are meant to interpret, not to document what I see and experience. This interpretation will often become largely abstract – an aerial view of a landscape or patterns in the sand at low tide – subjects which from a certain perspective, often present themselves with an abstract nature.

I do not usually start with a preconceived design, but with an idea of color and color relationships to create movement and flow often incorporating texture to help achieve this goal. A wide knowledge of painting techniques honed through years of study, observation, practice, and experience allows me to free my creative spirit and be intuitive and spontaneous yet informed. I like letting what happens in the first loose, wet applications of the paint suggest the direction I will take with the work. I am often surprised at the evolution of the work as it progresses and seems to develop a life of its own.

As a result, my art contains elements of interest and mystery awaiting discovery by the viewer after spending time with the art work – things not apparent on the first glance.

As a mountain girl who has been living at the beach the past two years life has taken a new twist that is being strongly reflected in my work. As the volunteer "turtle patrol lady" for Ft. Clinch State Park, I spend many hours on the beach during turtle season. The intense focus of this activity is reflected in my work which has taken on the bright colors of sunshine and sea. My thoughts are immersed in the natural patterns I find there mornings as I ride the beach on the ATV checking for new nest sites, afternoons as I walk the beach checking for signs of possible hatching activity, or sitting evenings waiting for the hatchlings to emerge. Sunrise and sunset motifs are finding their way more and more into my subject matter as well as the wonder and mystery of the turtle’s life cycle. Living on an island makes the influence of water and sky an overwhelming influence in my work.