Adam Baker spent much of his childhood in Northern Nevada, living in several mining towns and camps. When the copper mining had dried up in the mid-seventies, Baker’s family moved to Washington State, where he graduated from high school. Adam discovered a love for art at a very early age. All during school he would often find himself either daydreaming or drawing funny pictures of his teachers and classmates. Cursed with a relentless and rather warped sense of humor, Baker often found himself getting into trouble over some of the pencil portraits he would come up with during his high school years.

Through a mix-up in scheduling, Adam found himself enrolled in high school drama which he took to quite naturally. “The best class I ever took was high school drama. It really helped me to become a people watcher. I would spend hours at a local shopping mall, just observing people and their mannerisms.” Observing people to become a better actor and later, stand up comedian, actually helped Baker to become a better visual artist, helping his portraits grow in a fresh new direction as well. “My goal as a painter is to simply capture people caught in the act of being human.” Baker enjoys smuggling in a smirk or even a gesture that might unmistakably identify his subject. “I believe the success of a portrait artist rests in his ability to help the viewer ‘recognize’ the subject, even if the two have never met”.

In order to support his so-called “nervous habit” Adam has worked as a barber for nearly 20 years. The barbershop is one of his favorite places to observe people. In fact, his barbershop in Carson City serves as both studio and showroom to the artist. He keeps his easel right in his shop and paints in-between haircuts. Sometimes the artist can be found painting his latest work late into the evening after closing time. Many of the paintings that adorn the walls of the tiny barbershop are those of actual customers. There are plenty of subjects to choose from, and there is always a captive audience under the hair clippers.

Adam Baker has always admired the works of artists ranging from Rembrandt to Edward Hopper and Norman Rockwell, but admits his love for those old wacky Warner Brothers cartoons has “seriously corrupted” him as well.

Baker currently resides in northern Nevada and has shown his work in several shows around the Lake Tahoe, Carson City area. Since 2001 Baker has painted over 150 paintings.

Adam shows his work in Carson City at his barbershop and has been featured in Nevada Magazine, International Artist’s Magazine’s How Did You Paint That, 100 Ways To Paint People and Figures Vol. 2., as well as several other national publications.