A Brief Biography...
J. A. Baker was born in northern New Jersey to parents who appreciated and encouraged her interest in art. With a plentiful supply of crayons, paper and paint, she spent her early days drawing, painting and “making things.”
After graduating from high school, Baker went on to study at Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida about which she says “these were some of the most wonderful years of my life.” Her classes at Ringling included an intensive curriculum of drawing, painting, landscape, portrait, figure and color theory as well as the more technical aspects of designing, type and illustration; she studied all with passion.
During the years following graduation, Baker embarked upon a 25 year career as an art director and designer for a number of firms in Florida, Oklahoma and New Jersey. During her years in Tulsa, Baker served on the governing council of Johnson Atelier, where she explored mediums from hand thrown pottery to intaglio printmaking.
Baker served as an Artist-in-Residence with the Oklahoma State Arts Council and began exhibiting watercolor paintings and photographs in solo, group & competitive shows from New Jersey to New Mexico; winning several corporate, public and private commissions as well as numerous awards.
Currently living in Canyon Lake, Texas, Baker is a member of several art groups including the National Watercolor Society, the Oil Painters of America and the San Antonio Watercolor Group.
While her focus was first centered on watercolor, Baker transitioned through acrylics and has recently fallen in love with oils. Over the past two years she has concentrated solely on realism in oils, painting primarily still lifes using an “old masters’ ” palette and has developed a style that is uniquely hers.
A Statement from the Artist...
I often struggle to decide on a subject.
I fuss over the set up.
I muse upon the colors and lighting of the objects.
I lay out my palette with paint (usually the basic colors of the old masters).
I sit on my chair.
The rest I leave up to a higher power.
It always seems that there is no way the painting will look the way I anticipated when applying the first brush strokes. Then it either becomes magical and the painting takes on a beautiful life of its own or it becomes a “life lesson”.