About Ashley Baldwin

I’m Ashley Baldwin, an artist exploring our connection to nature, animals, and the universe through painting.

I’ve always been drawn to the things that make us feel small in the best possible way — the ocean stretching beyond the horizon, the night sky full of distant worlds, or the realization that we’re all part of something much bigger than ourselves.

My paintings grow out of that feeling. They bring together the natural world, wildlife, and the mysteries of being here, using color, symbolism, and surreal imagery to explore what it means to be alive in a world that’s both beautiful and fragile.

A little about where it comes from

I grew up in Florida, near the ocean and the Space Coast. Water and space have always felt connected to me: one stretches into the depths of our planet, the other into the vastness beyond it. Both have a way of shifting your perspective.

After losing my dad, that connection became more personal. He used to point out star constellations to me, watch space shuttle launches with me, and send me Hubble telescope photographs. I found myself returning to the night sky, and the bigger questions about our place in the universe. Painting became a way to sit with feelings that were difficult to put into words.

This is a new 2023 painting series inspired by the James Webb Telescope images and created in memory of my dad, Mike Baldwin. Throughout my childhood, my dad and I watched countless space shuttle launches together, and many nights, he pointed out d

I’m interested in that space where the personal meets the universal — where grief can make you more aware of being alive, where a tiny animal can remind you how much we share this planet with other lives, and where the sheer scale of the universe can make ordinary moments feel extraordinary.

The work

My paintings bring human figures, animals, and elements of the natural world into dreamlike environments. I’m drawn to deep blues, unexpected encounters, and the tension between the familiar and the surreal.

Wildlife is an important part of my practice, particularly endangered species. I want these animals to be more than subjects in a painting. They’re part of the world we belong to, with their own presence and significance. Including them is a way of thinking about our relationship with other living things, and what it means to share a planet with them.

I’m not interested in telling people exactly what to feel or what a painting has to mean. I’d rather leave room for curiosity, personal associations, and the things each person brings to the work.

Sometimes a painting begins with an encounter in nature. Sometimes it starts with an image, a memory, or a question I can’t quite let go of. I follow those threads in the studio and see where they lead.

Why it matters to me

Life is temporary. We spend so much time caught between what has already happened and what might happen next that it can be surprisingly difficult to experience the moment we’re actually in.

For me, art is one way of returning to it.

I hope my paintings create a little room to pause — to feel curiosity, notice something you might otherwise overlook, or remember your own connection to the world beyond your immediate worries.

I also hope they leave people looking at nature and wildlife a little differently. Wonder and care feel closely connected to me. The more we recognize ourselves as part of the natural world, the harder it becomes to see its other inhabitants as separate from us.

I’m still discovering where this work will go, and I like that. Each painting is another way of exploring the same big questions from a different angle.

Thanks for being here and taking a closer look.