Gazette photo by Derek Rushlow Landscape painter Ben Bauer describes one of his works, which is from an area on Partridge Road off of Highway 95 about four miles north of Stillwater. Bauer's painting and some of his other works are currently on display at Gallery 310 in downtown Stillwater. The exhibition ends Jan. 4, 2007.

STILLWATER - Landscape painter Ben Bauer looked around the empty upstairs gallery, a big open space with wooden floors that echo with each footstep.

This upstairs gallery was the site of the grand opening gala at Gallery 310 in downtown Stillwater. The gala was held on Thursday, Nov. 2, and the exhibition will end on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007. Among the artists at the gala was Bauer, accompanied by his wife, Melissa.

"You can tell he likes what he does because it comes out in his artwork," Melissa Bauer said. "He's got a passion for it."

Bauer, a Stillwater resident, has been putting paint to canvass his entire life, but landscape painting wasn't his first interest. He originally worked with wildlife art before moving on to painting trees, fields, views from lakes and other outdoor scenery.

"I think it appeals to a more general audience," Bauer, 26, said of landscape painting.

But Gallery 310 isn't the only art gallery to display his work, although most of his art hangs there. Bauer wants to pursue gallery representation so he can go national, but he will stay here to show off his work.

According to Bauer, landscape painting is a never-ending array of information. His "most serious" painting has been of landscapes, including a painting of two palm trees in Maui where he and his wife recently went on vacation. Bauer decided on landscape painting because he found an endless amount of landscape painters in the U.S. and the world.

"I saw an endless amount of styles that interested me to find my own style in landscape painting in itself," he added.

For his paintings, Bauer prefers to only use high-quality oils and painting supports, such as linens, in order to prolong the life of his works. His tools of the trade include oils and pastels, and the young artist constantly attends workshops and works on more paintings of landscapes.

Despite his recent recognition as an artist, Bauer hasn't won any awards. But he has been included in shows such as "The Wild Wings Fall Festival" in 2004, which he said was his "biggest event."

He was also included in the Minnesota Outdoor Painter's Show last fall.

Bauer comes from a deeply artistic family. His great-grandfather was a billboard artist, and he has many cousins and other family members who have made careers from their art.

"I don't have an artistic bone in my body," said his wife, Melissa, who works as an office assistant at U.S. Bank Home Mortgage in Roseville. "I wish I did."

In the future, Bauer's 5- to 10-year goal is to become a living, working artist and a teacher. He wants to eventually become a teacher of a college-level art class.

"The main thing is to work as hard as I can," he said.