Meet Hilary Baker

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hilary Baker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hilary, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

Years ago, fresh out of graduate school, I was troubled by a creative block. To work through it, I would assign myself small projects that I could finish without any external pressure. One project would inevitably lead to another body of work, so that I was continually making art, no matter how small or limited the goals I set. After those early years struggling with motivation, I am now fully immersed in my work. Ideas come from from books read, films seen, my morning walks, snippets of overheard conversations, and my eclectic interests. At this stage in my career, there are no longer barriers to creating.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Like many artists, I am deeply influenced by my surroundings. So when I moved from Los Angeles to Ojai – from an urban setting to a rural one – my work was affected, as well. In Los Angeles. I started a series of paintings, the Predators, juxtaposing urban wildlife with historic city landmarks. Both the animals and the structures were and are in danger of disappearing – either through loss of habitats or urban development. When I moved to Ojai, to a house and studio among the oak trees, the point of view of my paintings began to change. While still focusing on local wildlife, I began to paint iconic images of the surrounding landscape – highlighting the contrast between farmland and the man-made structures dotting the countryside. The concern for local wildlife’s habitats being encroached upon is a topical one – and I will be having a solo exhibition of the Predators paintings at the High Desert Museum in Oregon at the end of the year.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Being familiar with the vast canon of art history was instrumental in my development. As an art student, I attended a range of art history courses. Regardless, no amount of looking at slides in a lecture could compare with going to museums and galleries to see work in person. Keeping skills sharp after art school can include joining a drawing group, making daily sketches and reading about seminal artists. And it’s important to develop relationships with other artists, attending openings and engaging in essential dialogs about art.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

I am currently working on putting together a traveling exhibition of my baseball-themed paintings I made thirty-five years ago. The original paintings were gouache on paper and the current ones are acrylic on wood slices. For this type of project there are logistics to deal with – framing the work, for example – as well as developing a prospectus. Writers need to be brought in, and the focus of the text accompanying the exhibition has to address the subject matter. Decisions need to be made if a publication is produced to accompany the exhibition – a designer and photographer become part of the process. And everything has to be ready about a year in advance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hilarybaker.com
• Instagram: hilarybakerstudio
• Facebook: Hilary Baker

Image Credits

Maia Rose Photography