Richard Baker’s paintings reflect his personal lifestyle and interests, and thus activities of leisure and architecture typical of his home state of California are often central themes found within his canvases. Baker works from observation by taking photos while enjoying his favorite pastimes and is drawn to compositions that contain strong colors, sharp shifts in tonality, and subtle geometry.
Such features compliment his artistic style, which is characterized by a thick application of paint and by a synthesis of representational and abstract forms in which simplified planes of color and tonal contrasts imply rather than describe detail. Baker’s paintings have been enhanced by his years of creative experience in film and television working primarily with comedic actors such as Tim Allen and Drew Carey. Despite the brevity of his painting career, Baker has developed a personal and unique style of painting. He hopes that the motifs he depicts in his paintings will resonate with his audience, and that through his distinct painting style he may share his personal way of observing the world and highlight the often overlooked beauty of everyday activities.
Richard Baker's art education began at the University of Pennsylvania where he studied painting under the renowned realist painter Rackstraw Downes.