Inside the faith, family, and brushstrokes of Dave Baysden

Words by Josh Stueve | Photographs by Matt Gibson

Baysden’s days were measured in roadway design and mapping projects. As a planner and mapping specialist for an engineering firm, his world was one of lines, grids, and precision – safe, steady, and respectable. But in the quiet space between projects, something inside him began to stir.

“I realized I wasn’t doing the things I said I loved,” he recalls. “Painting and being outside.” 

Approaching 40, Baysden felt a growing sense of restlessness and lack of purpose that no paycheck or project deadline could fill. So, one night he pulled out his iPad and started creating again. What began as a creative escape soon became a calling.