Stephen Baker

showcase

The Lammas Lands, Godalming

The Lammas Lands are drawn in white over the sgraffito depiction of the river Wey. Existing electrical workings are shown at the top. The river walkway is shown at the bottom.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
38cm x 55cm

The 1881 Electrification of Godalming

Electrical workings are shown at the top. The electrified town is arranged in the table to the centre. The willows on the river walkway are at the bottom. Note the moderate image of the water wheel, at this stage in the series.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
52cm x 38cm
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The Godalming Water Wheel 2

Now the water wheel is shown in splendour. The left tablet shows the electrified town: The right tablet shows the Lammas lands. Willows by the riverside walk are at the lower area.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
41cm x 56cm

The Lloyds Building London

The Lloyds building is shown in external aspect and in two versions of the central atrium. There are tables of counting, risk and English mortality - all pertinent to the insurance business.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
35cm x 50cm

The Counting Picture

Numbers have long been a source of fascination to me. In this picture I explore some of the aspects of number:- formulae, logarithms, sequence and, my favourite, raising to a power.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
36cm x 46cm

Navigation chart for the Shalford Water Meadows

The schematically depicted river flows through the two water meadows:- one with growth controlled by sluices; The other an uncultivated seed area, Rain clouds in the sky.

Pen on Paper
55cm x 77cm

Creation.txt.1

The geometric sequence is paramount.

Acrylic ink on prepared papeer
45cm x 65cm

Creation.txt.3

The featured sequences are the egg and chains.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
45cm x 68cm

Study for Creation.txt.4

Development of the egg series

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
30cm x 42cm

Box Hill from Little Switzerland

The main tablet is to the front and this is highly schematic. This picture has a lovely, naive feel.

Acyrylic ink on Elephanthide
35cm x 28cm

Crab Apple Tree

I sat under this tree at Bookham pond. The apples are formed of pressings of an actual apple from the tree.

Acrylic ink on elephanthide
26cm x 19cm

Milmead Lock, Guildford

The river Wey and the Wey Navigation are shown in geometric flow. The water in the lock is shown at a lower level. To the top, the willow trees and car park.

Acrylic ink on elephanthide
45cm x 53cm

Study of the river Wandle

The river is shown under a brooding sky.

Pencil on paper
18cm x 27cm

River Mole at Leatherhead

View of the river Mole from Leatherhead town bridge, looking towards Dorking. This was developed in the schematic landscape "River Mole at Leatherhead".

Pencil on paper
44cm x 48cm

Study of a vase and jug

A tonal study by a linear artist ! Undertaken for a still life work "Dr Dee still life".

Charcoal on Paper
16cm x 27cm

Hildesheim Door, V&A Museum

11th century church door from Hildesheim, Germany. From the Cast Courts gallery, V&A Museum, London. The panels depict scenes from the bible.

Sgraffito - watercolour on oil pastel
45cm x 20cm

Wenlock Interior

Much Wenlock, Shropshire, has a 16th century Guildhall. Black panelled walls, black ceilings, black floors. The only non-black element is the flickering screens of the close circuit TV system.

Sgraffito - watercolour on oil pastel
44cm x 53cm

Willow Tree reflected in Still Water

This is a hai-ga: A Japanese shortened form of the hai-ku.

Sgraffito - oil pastel on wateercolour
35cm x 13cm

Spidery Order of the Visible World

Gorse bushes, sedge ditch, trees in the distance. Filaments descend from the sky. In the centre, the spider.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
34cm x 22cm

Spidery Perspective

Distance is not a spider concept but the eye structure distorts relationships between objects.

Acrylic ink on gesso
30cm x 22cm

Life Spores of the Dying Tree 1

The tree has collapsed into the sedge ditch. The spores are arranged in groups.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
32cm x 21cm

Muggletonian Genesis

The Muggletonians were a religious group active during the period of the English civil war. They appear to have believed that the egg fertilised by the act of Adam & Eve was placed in the womb of the virgin.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
46cm x 38cm

Cover of a Sacred Book

I love this picture.

Graphic sgraffito
13cm x 22cm

Table in an Occult Room

Alchemist's table in room with occult panels on wall.

Sgraffito
25cm x 32cm

Blue Still Life

An exercise in acrylic blues. Applied with palette knife to a black oil pastel surface, applied over watercolour. This picture features "exotic" sgraffito (see comments in the sgraffito section).

Sgraffito
22cm x 33cm

Study for Dr Dee Still Life

Charcoal and graphite study of a vessel and an armada dish.

Charcoal on Paper
17cm x 26cm

Still Life with Vase

Another early sgraffito work.

Sgraffito
23cm x 33cm

Descent of The Lammas on Godalming

Where did the identification of an area of land with the Lammas originate? Its descent from heaven is shown at the top of the picture. Other parts depict local scenes against the sgraffito river.

Acrylic ink on prepared papee
56cm x 41cm

The Godalming Water Wheel 1

The sgraffito river is dissected by the artificial water channel shown by the geometric pattern of flow. The upper tablet shows the electrified town. The water wheel has intermediate prominence.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
58cm x 41cm

The Lammas Lands in Flood

The lands are flooded by the ubiquitous sgraffito river. The Lammas hovers in the sky .Prominent is the pond with reeds, etc located in the Lammas area but this device is also an indicator of sanctity.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
38cm x 56cm

Architect's office with cityscape views

The office equipment is shown:- Computer, laptops, drawing table, projector and screen. The cityscape views are depicted in sgraffito.

Sgraffito and ink on prepared paper
42cm x 70cm

The Shalford Water Meadow

Two rain clouds hover over the Milmead Weir. The river Wey flows into the three sluice gates that feed the water meadow. Growth in the water meadow is shown in table form.

Acrylic ink and sgraffito
58cm x 69cm

The Shalford Water Meadows No 2

Clouds over the sgraffito river. Three sluice gates feed the water meadow Tree sequence. Milmead weir to the left.

Acrylic ink, sgraffito and size
48cm x 51cm

Creation.txt.2

The first appearance of the chain motif

Acrylic ink on prepared papeer
70cm x 45cm

Creation.txt.4

The synthesis of the series - Full filament descent, chain sequences emerge from the egg, blocks of people in the world.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
51cm x 77cm

Study - Mother Sky

Study for Creation.txt.4 but not adopted.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
34cm x 24cm

River Mole at Leatherhead

If you stand on Leatherhead town bridge and look towards Dorking, this is what you see - in schematic terms:- The divided river, trees, stones, the shell bridge, etc.

Acrylic ink on elephanthide
43cm x 47cm

Box Hill from Burford Bridge

The river Mole, swollen from flooding, is in the centre; Box Hill, with its exposed chalk areas, is behind. The two tables to the front show growth, wild plants, etc.

Acrylic ink on elephanthide
41cm x 46cm

St Catherine's Hill, Guildford

The river Wey is shown in geometric form, adjacent to the railway line and its tunnel. St Catherine's Chapel is at the top. The depiction of the two trees to the front is interesting.

Acrylic ink on elephanthide
45cm x 60cm

Sketchbook study of Box Hill

Drawn on gesso. View of Box Hill from Little Switzerland. I draw attention to the linear depiction of cloud formation. This image was developed in the schematic landscape "Box Hill from Little Switzerland".

Pencil on prepared paper
28cm x 19cm

The Hereford Chained Library

There are a small number of chained libraries in the UK (including one at Guildford). The Hereford library is the most important. I show some of the philosophical books, including one by William of Ockham.

Pencil on gesso
26cm x 38cm

Audience

When you give a talk or demonstration, this is what you see: faces, some eager, some bored, some falling asleep, etc.

Pencil on paper
32cm x 39cm

Large Citynightscape

Inspired by evening wanderings in Guildford and the City of London. This is one of my woodcut forgery series.

Sgraffito - watercolour on oil pastel
47cm x 63cm

Cliff at Solva

The Pembrokeshire coast has fantastic cliffs and rocks. Solva, near St Davids, has a large natural harbour, the cliffs of which are fully revealed at low tide.

Sgraffito - watercolour on oil pastel
60cm x 53cm

3 Raindrops fall on flowing water

This is one of my loveliest pictures. There are three raindrops in the sky. They fall onto flowing water.

Sgraffito - Oil pastel on watercolour
36cm x 16cm

Sky in Spider Eye over Sedge Ditch

Sky in fractured vision. View of close entanglement of fibres, spores and cells. Both seen with independent eyes.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
32cm x 21cm

King Spider in his World

The web in proximity to the structured world of signs and particles.

Acrylic ink on gesso
31cm x 22cm

Life Spores of the Dying Tree 2

The spores from the dying earth tree drift into the living sky tree.

Acrylic ink on prepared paper
30cm x 21cm

Study for Muggletonian Genesis

Depictions of the events in Genesis and of the first fertilised human egg in the history of the world.

Acrylic ink on paper
38cm x 34cm

I am in my Egg

The idea of humanity as oviparous.
Would it not be better to be born in an egg ? But not being born in one does not mean that we do not live in one.

Graphic sgraffito
33cm x 21cm
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Study of a Wild Pear Tree

This is a crude and inarticulate attempt to depict the wholeness of (what?)...the non-differentiation between (what?). A product of confusion. One of my favourite pictures.

Sgraffito
27cm x 34cm

Dr Dee Still Life

This shows a vessel and scrying globe on a wooden table. Dr Dee was an Elizabethan scientist, alchemist and mystic. His scrying globe is in the British Museum.

Sgraffito
30cm x 40cm
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Still Life with Bicycle Parts

An early work, in which I was developing this kind of sgraffito.

Sgraffito
33cm x 22cm

Two still Life Sketches

Two five-minute sketches with a dip pen and acrylic ink.

Pen on Paper
15cm x 25cm

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