Carol Cassel Baker grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and currently makes her home in Maplewood, New Jersey. She has worked as both a teacher and an illustrator. At SVACE, Baker took Portrait Painting FIC-2237-A with John Parks.

"Generally, my artwork is about color and spatial relationships and their impact upon one another," Baker says. "Regarding portraiture, human faces tell a story, though I’m mostly interested in the formal elements of the painting itself. It’s the interplay of color and light and composition I find intriguing. My personal challenge is to paint the flesh with sensual, descriptive color, capturing a strong likeness of the model, all the while presenting an energetic, balanced visual interaction among all the components of the painting. I strive to convey a palpable human connection with the subject, as well as a formally interesting painting."

Selected Honors and Exhibitions:

Feature Article: The Artist's Magazine, July/August 2021

Orchestrated Color. The Portraits of Carol Cassel Baker

Book Illustrator: I Want to Go Outside to Play!! by Teresita Blake Kellenyi

Recipient: Ford Foundation Grant for Painting

Baker has exhibited her Oil Paintings and Pastels in multiple juried exhibitions including: Gallery Aferro, Newark, NJ, City Without Walls, Newark, NJ, Faber Birren Color Award Show, Stamford, CT, New Jersey Center for the Visual Arts, Summit, NJ, Studio Montclair Gallery, Montclair, NJ, Valley Arts Gallery, Orange NJ, and The Hamilton Street Gallery, Bound Brook, NJ.

Visit her installation at 209 East 23 St. New York, NY, up until November 2022.

Features

Students Share their Creativity at SVACE