About My Artwork

 
             I started this website in 2012 to familiarize people with my children's book, "The Adventures of Isabella & Nathaniel"
       which was a way to raise funds for researching neuroblastoma. It has been a very successful project. The book was
       originally published in a hand made, hard cover, limited, signed edition. At some point I'm hoping to do publishing on
       demand in a soft cover edition. The time has come!

            I was unable to find a printer in San Francisco that could replicate the quality and color of the Artist Edition in a soft            cover book, and lower the price. I got a lot of feedback from many grandparents saying they wanted to purchase
        a copy and would be willing to pay $25 since most of the funds will continue going toward researching a cause and                  hopefully a cure for neuroblastoma. I was referred to a number of printers that were unable to replicate the book, but
        in August of 2020, in the midst of COVID I contacted a printer in Santa Rosa. Being able to work with somebody local 
        made everything easy after that. There were a lot of delays because businesses closed on and off depending upon the
        decrease in the spread of the COVID but it was exciting to see the results of the proofs little by little. The color                        matched exactly, the quality of the paper is the same, and when we compared the original book to the new edition, the            only difference is the cover.  I am now selling the softcover book for $25. There is no shipping fee.    

           After seeing the success of this website with my book,  I decided to keep all my work together for viewing, and
        have added images of my paintings, prints, and work that is now part of the Sketchbook Project in the Brooklyn
        Library, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn New York.

          In the summer of 2016 when the Sketchbook Project went out on tour my work was featured in the Cedar Rapids
        Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, Iowa,  Millennium Park, Chicago, IL., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LA, CA,
        Fort Smith Regional     Art Museum, Ft. Smith, AZ., Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN., Whitney Museum
        of American Art, NY, NY.

         I have included some of the images from my sketchbooks here, on my website. The complete books can be viewed at
        the sketchbook project's website: www.sketchbook.com or go to www.brooklynlibrary.com click on view, or library and fill
        in my name, Joy Baker.

        In addition to my paintings, I have created prints with Sarah Sills in her studio in Brooklyn, NY, that can also be 
        viewed here.

                                                                     
​                                                                     Artist Statement

Throughout my life I have been aware of a need to use art as healing for the spirit. Healing occurs and thrives between creators and viewers in an atmosphere that encourages imagination, curiosity, learning and communication. All the necessary interactive skills needed to participate in life exists in the arts, and are vital to human development. My personal experiences confirm this, and I believe, become a part of our individual and collective identity as a society.