Interview with Charming Baker

Who are you?

My name is Charming Baker.



Where are you?

London, south of the river



Where are you from?

I grew up in a very working class area in the north of England



Where are you going?

Forwards. Occasionally sideways, but never backwards.



What are you up to?

Trying to make the world a bit more interesting to look at.



Give us an example

I had one of my paintings shot with a shotgun because I thought it looked a bit ordinary. I don’t think that shooting a piece of art should take away any part of its decorative appeal. If anything it becomes a conversation piece.



Describe your work to a blind person

I like it when something’s not quite right. I like to take people along a path which leads to a place they don’t expect to be. They might discover a personal or political subtext, they might simply enjoy the view. The effect I’m aiming for in my work is that slightly unnerving feeling you get when you have your arse patted in public, but you're not exactly sure who's patting it.



Do you have a central theme for your work at the Carmichael show?

Some of the bits between birth and death

What are the things that inspire you?

Deadlines, laughter, oddness, going for a run

What makes a great artist

A great agent



What about education?

Prince Charles had the best education money can buy. Have you seen his paintings? If you give an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters, you’ll end up with Shakespeare. Give an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of paintbrushes and you’ll end up with an art college.

What’s is urban art?

Urban is art for people who don’t like staying in. Fine art is for people who should get out more. Abstract art is for people who go out far too much and need to spend a bit more time at home, if not in hospital.



And figurative art?

That’s for people who can’t make up their minds whether to stay in or go out.

Your work straddles the line between urban art and fine art. Where do you see yourself?

Urban Art isn’t just about style, it’s about an attitude. And it’s an attitude I absolutely relate to it. It’s exciting times. Like when punk fired up a dull and complacent music industry, so Urban Art is blasting a shot of warm air up the pin stripe trousers of a previously stuffy art scene. It’s what art should do.



Any advice for the modern art buyer?

The bigger the piece, the further back you have to stand to appreciate it. The same applies to a piece of small, but uninspiring, art.

Charming Baker (www.charmingbaker.com) has just completed a successful show at the Signal Gallery in London. Next up his work will appear in Pour Me Some Smoke at the Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles from 6th to 29th November.

See Charming Baker’s work at www.charmingbaker.com