I wonder how especially delighted Equestrian art admirers would be for the opportunity of British artists Darren Baker and Sally Lancaster to produce an Art Exhibition together?

Ah, the Result.  Just look at our ‘Sweet Ballerina’ shown below, waiting patiently.

My favourite artists evoke an extraordinary sense of admiration.  Power of artistic quality.  Flair for vivid imagination.  Incredulous symbology.  Compositional genius.  Weightiness of message.

Darren Baker pushes the boundaries of hyperrealism straight up into the stratosphere.

Having actually experienced an olfactory moment whilst looking at an image of onions Darren Baker had painted is certainly profound.

Suddenly whilst writing this piece the artist John W Waterhouse has leapt into my mind.  The weightiness of Darren Baker’s technique allows comparison.  To appreciate my thinking further please read:

https://theunfathomableartist.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/john-w-waterhouse-the-lady-of-shalott/

And then we return to Darren Baker.

What makes my ‘olfactory moment’ intriguing is that I have anosmia.  Long attributed by myself as occurring from about 7 years of age.  Regrettably my olfactory sense is therefore extremely finite.  Only strong chemical smells can cause me to briefly capture the fleeting note of an aroma.

Vinegar and onions for instance.

Darren has either purposed to accomplish this olfactory wonder and/or his Realist crafting is so highly tuned that the subject detailing causes complimentary senses to become involved.  An artistic crafting of visual-memory triggers linked to additional senses other than sight and touch is certainly a commendable talking point.

Yet I speak from personal experience.  Perception being the culmination of all cognitive reasoning gathered together at the blink of an eye.  The sixth sense if you will.  Intuition.

Darren Baker is already demonstrating his capability at creating art that includes the sense of touch relative to the people, subjects or objects on view.  By sight.

Encourage and be encouraged.

Having felt the power of horses and the gracefulness of dancers myself.

To conjure a sense without the sense itself is a sheer feat of hand-to-brush-to-canvas wizardry.  Entirely at the forefront of Realist painting is the believability of depth and touch.  Highly delineated imagery presented conceivably.

Would it be correct to explain Realist art viewing as first ‘touching as if with one’s eyes?’.

Like the bonfire I did not turn aside from gazing towards in close proximity at 7 years of age.  The alluring art I could see dancing as fire-crackling mercilessly against a mountain of wood.  Interestingly at this same age I gazed surreally upon a low slung Sun in the sky, pausing whilst playing with friends.  Pondering its defiant blazing absurdity.

I find the whole idea that Darren has engineered onions and vinegar into compositional art recipes fascinating.  Look at the popularity of cookery shows we see in the televised media.

We love our international food heritage.

Few can hold their work up to the light with the Michelin Stars quality of excellence that Darren Baker boasts modestly through his paintings and eclectically acclaimed client list.

Darren Baker’s work is unquestionably hyperrealist in quality.  The depth of field within ‘Venice’ shown above is a Smörgåsbord of places to explore with our eyes.  Reach out to touch your own, personal.  Painting.  Someone who cares for their art.

Realist painters often draw out the extraordinary from the seemingly ordinary.  In 50 years time Darren Baker will have future generations writing and commenting about his work.

The super-impressive charm of paintings such as ‘Herb Garden’ and ‘Breakfast Tea’ first caught my attention and proclamation of awe.  Successful commissions for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Bahrain Royal Family and a recently opened Darren Baker Gallery in London 2014 speak volumes.  His exemplary talent and ultra-professionalism garnishing favourable influence.

Quite rightly the work of Edgar Degas follows in my next post.