At Leisure Exhibition Opening: Saturday, October 22, 2016 from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

October 22 - November 26, 2016

Skidmore Contemporary Art, 2525 Michigan Avenue, B-4, Santa Monica, California 90404

www.skidmorecontemporaryart.com

2 Points of View, 2015. Oil on canvas, 32 x 24 in. Copyright 2016 Richard Baker, photo by Fine Art Impressions.

Richard Baker is not your typical emerging artist. Before delving into the art world, he first built a long and successful career in the entertainment industry as a leading film and television producer and talent manager. After years of putting his passion for painting on the backburner, Baker has now found the time to pursue his art and hone his craft. His training with Rackstraw Downes, famed realist painter, during his time at the University of Pennsylvania, still heavily influences the technical qualities of Baker’s painting style. Inspired by the Bay Area Figurative Movement and pioneering artists like Wayne Thiebaud, David Park and Richard Diebenkorn, Baker explores the role of figuration as well as landscapes in his painting.

Pure!, 2016. Oil on canvas, 24 x 32 in. Copyright 2016 Richard Baker, photo by Fine Art Impressions.

Richard Baker’s upcoming solo exhibition, At Leisure, highlights his immediately recognizable, sophisticated, and deeply personal painting style. Baker has said that he only paints things that cause him to experience either a visceral reaction, or that resonate with him psychologically. Heavily influenced by cinematography, Baker's eye for shading, color, contrast, and composition was heightened by the countless hours spent scrutinizing video images while filming and editing television shows.

Enjoying the View, 2016. Oil on canvas, 24 x 32 in. Copyright 2016 Richard Baker, photo by Fine Art Impressions.

His subjects are defined by planes of color; often geometric in representation. Baker reduces his compositions to their simplest elements and uses light, shadow, and planes of color to imply depth, space, and detail. Through his strong visual perception and tonal range, he captures the subtleties of form and light that are often overlooked by others. Baker chose the title At Leisure because the motifs represent many of his own leisurely passions and his lifestyle, including baseball, golf, hiking, dogs, winery tours, beaches, and visits to museums, galleries, and artist studios. Baker’s work is accessible, rather than conceptual. Part of its magic is its relatability, and the beauty of its simplicity. It’s art that needs no explanation.

Master of Light + Form, 2016. Oil on canvas, 24 x 32 in. Copyright 2016 Richard Baker, photo by Fine Art Impressions.

“My style continues to evolve, the brushwork is freer, and I am now incorporating some wet on wet paint blending along with my usual direct style of painting," says Baker. He adds, "I hope that the compositions cause viewers to experience a sense of stillness and tranquility and that the intense light and color is joyful."

Midsummer Daydream, 2015. Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in. Copyright 2016 Richard Baker, photo by Fine Art Impressions.

The exhibition at Skidmore features thirteen new paintings, all of which will be available for sale. The opening reception for At Leisure will take place on Saturday, October 22 from 5:00 to 7:00pm at Skidmore Contemporary Art in Santa Monica, California. The show will be on view until November 26, 2016. Owned by Lia Skidmore, an art dealer and advisor to art collectors for more than 25 years, Skidmore Contemporary Art opened in Malibu in 1998 and relocated to Bergamot Station in Santa Monica in 2009.

To learn more about At Leisure, click HERE.