Contemporary Western Art by Richard Baker - His roots run deep into the Southern Arizona desert.
Richard Baker's contemporary Western Art has been very well received with his original oil paintings, quality paper prints and canvas Giclees selling very strongly across the United States, and his art being showcased in national magazines and newspapers.
"I always wanted to paint a tribute to Steve McQeen, the Hollywood cowboy." Richard and Steve spent a lot of time together racing motorcycles in the California desert way back in the '70s. In 2007, Richard was able to paint Steve as Junior Bonner!
Riding with Steve McQueen helped Richard's Western Art
"Steve McQueen was very happy when he was riding his motorcycle in the desert away from the pressure of making movies in Hollywood.
Like Steve, we both enjoyed riding the peaceful wide open spaces of the desert. For me these things also shaped my future Western paintings. Those majestic desert views with the shifting light and golden sunsets. This time with Steve really began my career of painting the desert."
Another thing that Steve and Rich had in common was that they were both cowboys at heart. In fact, Steve's widow, Barbara, said to Rich, "I know it (Junior Bonner) was a movie roll Steve enjoyed very much, because he got to play an American cowboy." Even though Steve did a lot of other kinds of rolls, like high performance cars for example, Steve was always a cowboy first. As for Rich, his daughter said, "Dad, you are a cowboy at heart, you have always been, your mind is aways back in the Old West."
