Echo Baker has been attracted to the human face—and rendering it—from a very young age. This affinity, which has since expanded to include the entire figure, withstood decades of other educational, career and family endeavors, until she was finally able to direct her attention back to her artistic aspirations.
Caribbean Dancer, oil, 16 x 12"
Baker is driven by a desire to “describe” what she sees in a person through drawing and painting, much like the writers she admires use words to describe their characters.
“In my portraits I’m just trying to describe how I see and feel about this person, their appearance, their character or spirit…,” she says. “I always try to capture what’s captivating, unique or unusual about the person, their positive and uplifting qualities. I tend to elevate the image or the feeling I have. I don’t paint or express the negative in my art—I’m drawn to more positive images because that’s what I like to see.”
Umbrella Man, oil, 12 x 16"
She came across the person depicted in Umbrella Man at an outdoor renaissance festival, where the costumes and revelry made it an opportune setting for an artist seeking inspiration and reference material. “Visually [the scene] caught my attention because of the color, and the high contrast of light and dark in the natural light,” Baker explains. She is first struck visually, then she shifts to the content and how she feels about it. “He’s an older person and I wondered why he would be sitting there selling these feminine items,” she says about what piqued her curiosity about the “umbrella man”. “He looked like a character out of a book or a movie and I wondered what his life story was.”
Enchanting, oil, 9 x 12"
With its high chroma and liveliness, Caribbean Dancer, which features a woman in a performance Baker saw at a local museum is in a similar vein as Umbrella Man, while Fur Coat & Blue Jeans, a portrait of her daughter-in-law, and Enchanting are more traditional portraits. Both exhibit Baker’s ability to combine traditional realism with the softness of impressionism.
Baker also does commissions, work she calls a combination of “love and necessity,” meaning she always finds joy in painting people and it’s also a way to supplement her income.
Whether a commission or a piece she is personally compelled to paint, Baker says capturing the likeness is the first concern, which requires being an astute observer and having the skill level to translate what you see onto the canvas.
Fur Coat & Blue Jeans, oil, 16 x 20"
“People tell me my portraits make the person look alive and life-like,” she says. “Since I gravitated to faces at a very young age I think it comes natural to me. I’m keen on reflecting what I see. If something is just a little off, people can tell. I pay very close attention to the subtleties of their features and expressions, the corner of the eye, the form of the lips…these details are crucial to creating a likeness when painting portraits.”
But, she adds, “Physical likeness is one thing but capturing the essence is the ultimate goal.” —
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