Christopher Baker

Christopher Baker is predominantly a landscape painter who relishes braving the elements, confronting nature at its most extreme. A trip to Antarctica, resulted in a highly acclaimed series of paintings exhibited in Petworth House and the Royal Academy in 2006.

In the Summer of 2017, Christopher Baker travelled to the Arctic in Norway, walking with his large format (23kg) sketch book on his back to paint the wide open skies, ice, snow and mountains. The water colour sketches show the changing weather and light.

Back in the studio he created a series of eight hand-painted carborundum relief prints from the sketches, in these Christopher Baker uses colour to explore how different weather and light at different times of the day alters the feel and appearance of, and emotional response to rock, sea and ice. This print series is called Midnight Sun.

In the UK he works in situ with frantic speed and energy, the brush marks bold and direct with no time for reflection.

On other occasions he has begun a painting indoors, only to find the need to take it out into the landscape and work directly from nature. Baker works in oils, watercolours and his own unique mono print technique. His solid grounding in the classical rules of painting and his understanding of compositional rules and colour harmony, give him the freedom to extend his works well beyond the realm of traditional landscape. He has absorbed the planes and patterns of the landscape often using the device of strong diagonals to lead our eye into the distance until the land merges with the distant horizon.

His restrained colour resonates with subtle accents. While the paint surface may appear spontaneous and gestural, it is complex, with layer upon layer of brush strokes and glazes.

Baker has exhibited at Pallant House, Chichester, Petworth House the Royal Academy as well as internationally. He has won awards and scholarships and is a tutor at West Dean College in Sussex.

He recently starred as the artist in the acclaimed film Archipelago set in the Scilly Isles

“If we can identify for ourselves the challenges of landscape - what are we believing, how are we experiencing it, we will melt the iron curtain with the flames of our hearts. We will need to be creative, not know the result, commit to a process of allowing original felt ideas to come through and trust that there is value in this. The challenge therefore is for us to make a relationship of Landscape with our notion of art.
Could it be true what Gombrich writes – there are only artists?

It is certainly interesting what Joyce says- “that the only question to ask of art is: from how deep a source does it spring?”. This is what landscape challenges.”


Comment by Prof. David Carpanini August 2016:

"One of the finest landscape painters of his generation and is magnificently equipped to tackle the changing drama of this land."

He continued "Throughout a long career his love of subject has been matched by a relentless determination to discover a consistent quality of newness in his understanding of the natural environment. He is not a repeatist artist, indeed, there is a skill and freshness in the way he handles his subjects which is truly mesmeric. The paintings always work on two levels. They have a strong narrative and at the same time a powerful aesthetic appeal. Ihe articulates his vision so precisely his method of doing so is at one with his love of subject and profound spiritual engagement. His audience sense that his pictures are right. Here is honesty and truth. They have all stood on a mountain top or rocky headland with wind and spray in their face reveling in the joy of existence."