The Fabulous Baker Boy

Picture the scene. You’re backstage at Oxegen armed with a wide range of prints and paintings of some of the world’s biggest musicians, many of whom just happen to be there in the flesh. You’ve already narrowly sidestepped a potential bidding war between Fun Lovin’ Criminal Huey Morgan and Dublin bombshell Imelda May over one of your Johnny Cash paintings (Huey got there first), and now that the dust has settled on that contretemps, you’re just about to come face to face with one of your heroes. And he’s just about to come face to face with your painting of him. Oh, and he’s Liam Gallagher. No pressure then.

So Mark Baker, painter to the stars, how was it for you?
“I was pretty starstruck to be honest!”, he laughs. “I wasn’t too nervous around the other stars, but my hand was shaking after Liam showed up. He literally swaggered up, exactly like you’d expect. I’d left a John Lennon painting hanging outside his room, so he just kind of stood there and was tapping at it with his finger, telling people to look at it. Then when he was going back in to his dressing room he looked over and saw his own portrait, walked over and stood with his hands behind his back in the typical Liam Gallagher pose.
“So I went over and introduced myself. The Dave Grohl painting was next to it, and he wanted to know how much each one cost. I told him that Dave’s costs two grand and his is four grand – which is true! - and he just goes ‘Fuckin’ ‘avin that!’. There was a big crowd at that stage and everyone was laughing. He didn’t buy it but he did sign it. I’ve been listening to Oasis since I started listening to music, so the fact that he loved it meant a lot to me.”

Speaking of Mr. Grohl, Mark was also on hand to present his very own sketched visage to the Foo Fighter, only to find himself getting far more up close and personal than he expected.
“He was hanging out in Deadmau5’s room, so we decided to just go up with the painting and knock on the door. You don’t wait for Dave Grohl to come to you! We put the picture right outside the door so when he opened it the first thing he would see was his face staring back at him. Deadmau5 came out first – at least I think it was him, he wasn’t wearing the mask! About 20 seconds later, the door opens slowly and I can hear Dave Grohl laughing and going, ‘What the hell is my face doing staring back at me?!’.

“He said it was ‘amazing but terrifying’. It was so surreal. He made me look at his teeth, because apparently I didn’t get the groove of his teeth right. So I’m standing there, staring into Dave Grohl’s mouth. It was weird!”
While his portraits and live paintings are undoubtedly impressive, it’s his signature ‘In 3’ designs that really set 26 year-old Baker apart from his peers. Starting out, Mark knew that he had to carve out his own niche, and his unique drawings — which see his subjects literally split open to reveal a further iconic image of themselves ­— have cemented Baker as an especially idiosyncratic talent.
“It’s kind of like two portraits in one,” he explains. “I’ve had other artists tell me that they wish they’d thought of it. It’s a simple idea but I’m glad I thought of it! The thought process takes a while. I like to do something different with them, like the Jim Morrison one where he has the eyes of a lizard. Artists generally like the live ones, but I usually have free rein to do whatever I want.”
Mark’s work was such a hit at Oxegen that he’s since been requested, nay demanded, to work his magic for glitter-happy hedonist Ke$ha and Black Eyed Peas diva Fergie. Nice work if you can get it!

“Fergie gave me her card!” Mark exclaims when recalling his brush with one of the planet’s biggest superstars. “After she finished her set with Slash, she came up to me going, ‘Hey I’ve played this festival before! Where am I? Where’s my painting?’ I only had a few weeks to prepare so I didn’t get a chance. Luckily she was really nice, but yeah I better get to work on that one!”

To view Mark’s full portfolio and for details of his upcoming coffee table book and forthcoming exhibition at London’s Bradbury Gallery, visit facebook.com/markbakerart.