Laurence 1993, Florida USA
The Poet Painter
Florida Arts Magazine
by Randy Myers
In the pages of art history we read about those rare figures whose quiet persistence and late-blooming brilliance redefine the boundaries of their craft. In 2025, E. Laurence Bake, the lifelong poet, painter, musician, storyteller is such a figure—a romantic soul with a lion's heart, whose mastery of “The Poetic Arts” is only now beginning to unfold before the world's eyes.
Here is an artist who was willing to work in quiet obscurity for over 50 years, rather than surrender to the trappings of the traditional art world's promises of big money, celebrity and fame. He chose not to bow to the traditional art world’s noise. And so, a treasure vault of poetry and paintings, recordings, books and teachings remained locked away, as a private symphony of words and visions he honed to ever new levels of mastery over the years.
Today, in his golden years, he emerges not as a relic of the past but as an iconic example of the futuristic artists around the world. Now he wields the power of digital, hand-painted and AI-assisted imagery alongside his original poetic verses. Each of his new pieces continue to advance the art form, to what are now referred to as,“Painted Poems”—which are museum-quality canvases that some believe will be seen as national poetic treasures one day.
Laurence's artistic journey began as a young musician in the 1960s, and quickly turned into a slow burn of romantic idealism that echoes the solitary genius of the legendary poets, like William Blake, and Emily Dickinson, only with the spiritual beauty of Rumi's universal love poems.
The first collection being released in 2025 is a stunning series of Painted Poems, called, "The Divine Love" Collection. These are full size canvases, with Limited Edition Prints to follow. "I wanted this collection to be representative of these modern times." Laurence said, recently. "Technology is shaping the future faster than we ever believed possible now. So The Divine Love Collection is a dynamic fusion of poetry, AI assisted and hand done images that blend together as one." He reasoned.
Alongside Laurence's Painted Poems one will start finding a complimentary collection of his, “Poetry Scrolls,” and a new music and poetry album, where his words dance with melodies and harmonies performed by Laurence personally, with a group of talented guests in his private music recording studio. Add to this the anticipation of the series of his books, poetic gifts and collectables and other creative recordings that are currently being -prepared for release and it's evident: The creative wonder that is the E. Laurence Bake treasure vault is finally open at last.
E. Laurence's canvases, all museum-grade materials, are not just objects but artifacts of this new era—an era where the creative human spirit and the spirit of the techno-age are in search of a voice. The Painted Poem concept screams out, loud and clear as a testament to the power of creativity, blending the timelessness of poetry with the boundless potential of the visual-digital age dawning.
Each new age, new movement in art had it's voices. Duchamp’s (French painter/sculptor/writer, born 1887) readymades, shocked the world into rethinking art’s definition, Monet’s brushstrokes, (painter 1840) which captured light as no one had before. Like these titans, E. Laurence Bake stands at the crossroad between the past and the future of art in the next century. He is the artist whose late emergence aligns him with the pioneers who ushered in the new age of their time. His work whispers of permanence: these are not fleeting canvases to admire at an exhibition, but potential "literary and the visual treasures," destined to be chased and cherished by discerning collectors and investors into the next century.
For now, his works are quietly beginning to appear, one-by-one, slipping onto the radar of private collectors with the anticipation of a pending hurricane. Make no mistake: E. Laurence Bake will not be a secret much longer. He is a poet-painter for the ages, and his Painted Poems may one day hang with the masterpieces that defined our Internet era—and the eras to come.
*****
Laurence 1965 - Boys In The Band
Laurence 1994- poetry/music/ dance
For decades, Laurence poured his days and nights into the next poem, melody, verse of a song, or painting, weaving narratives of love, loss, and the great questions we all ask about life and living, sooner or later. His work has mirrored his own, personal, grand journey to greater ability and spiritual awareness. He studied the human condition with a craftsman’s precision. His paintings became intimate companions to his verses. His ability to compose music as soundtracks complimenting his poems, lyrics and stories began to take shape into full albums of words and music. Add it all together and you have a master of THE POETIC ARTS.
All of this while never exhibiting these works. Fame was not his muse; mastery was. But now, finally, with a lifetime of talent behind him, Laurence is opening the vault, revealing not just a backlog of stunning pieces from the past, but with a promise of bold leaps into the present and the future. He currently has several new collections in the making.
Each Painted Poem is fire burning in a house of pure emotion, it is a literary / visual experience that transcends time. His poems would have touched and moved people's minds and heart 100 or 500 years ago, and may well do so 100 years and more in the future.
The art market has already taken note of the "artist plus technology shift:" Christie’s auction sale of an AI-generated piece for $432,500 and the 2023 Art Basel report on "surging digital art sales signal a cultural tide" that Laurence's works ride with singular grace. Why not art from a real human artist.
Put 100 paintings in any room or space and your eye would find an authentic ELB Painted Poem jump out at you within minutes. There is no mistaking an ELB work in a crowd of 1000 paintings.
The art world is only beginning to catch up to Bake’s vision. His Poetry Scrolls—elegant, tactile extensions of his verse—and his music albums, where poetry meets melody, round out a multimedia legacy that defies categorization.
Yet it’s the Painted Poems that may cement his stature. In their fusion of cyber and human, they reflect a world in transition, a society wrestling with its own creations. If the “Cyber + Human Hand” movement reshapes art for generations, as many predict, Bake could emerge as its quiet voice—a figure whose monumental presence will only grow more clear with time.
This is no mere late-career pivot by a late-in-life artist trying to relive the past—it’s a revelation, positioning Laurence at the forefront of what art historians may one day call the “Cyber + Human Hand” movement. This movement, a seismic shift in the art world, finds its roots in the collision of human creativity and machine intelligence. Just as the Industrial Age birthed photography, and screen prints redefined popular art, today’s artists are grappling with the Digital world as both tool and collaborator.
Laurence Bake's Painted Poems are the perfect poster-child for the revolutionary nature of these modern times, where his original verses enhance and contextualize the painted images that embody this dialogue. He is no passive user of technology; he shapes it, selecting and refining digital visions to marry his words, creating works that pulse with the zeitgeist of our time.
Laurence LIVE - 2014 - TRANSFORMATION TOUR - Florida USA
Laurence & IT Director Ann Anderson 2015
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