We had the good fortune of connecting with Tiffany Baker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffany, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
It has taken me several years to cultivate a relationship with taking risks. Even the word risk seems unnecessarily taboo. In general, I try to measure risk taking in time, resources, or energy spent on a new, unfamiliar opportunity. I ask myself “What would be the consequence if this fails or if I cannot recover immediately?” How will I pivot if this direction doesn’t work out? Taking the steps to establish myself as a business owner and artist (artreprneur) was one of the biggest risks I’ve taken in my career. It came at a time when I, like most people followed the corporate ‘creative for pay” route yet didn’t feel fulfilled with the work that came as a result. Looking back, investing in myself was the biggest step in my creative career. I took painting classes after office hours to familiarize myself with the technique once again. I saved money and eventually rented a studio space and started to host art shows.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
During undergrad at art school, I experienced a devastating death in my life, and from that event forward, it has been my fascination to reveal the unorthodox beauty in grief through my work. It took an incredibly long time, the span of almost nine years and was so challenging. I took a two-month sabbatical in Tibet sponsored by a travel group where I lived amongst monks in Lhasa and the Amdo region just north of Bhutan. We hiked in the hilly terrain for 5 hours each day for a week sleeping outside in tents at night. I learned the customs of a different cultural group. I asked the universe hard questions and was away from my family, seeking answers I deeply desired to know.

Today, storytelling is the cornerstone of my creative process and inspires the work I produce. Loss and connection are familiar themes in my art, and I am deeply intrigued by the personal events of someone’s life. In my art, I paint black people who are imagined, alive, and those who have died as a present-day, singular focal point in my portraiture. I nearly exclusively paint black people because during my education, there were many gaps in representation. Through my art I’ve embarked on a re-education and a truthful exploration of the world around me. I often show my figures with a regal intensity in their gaze as if they’re sitting across from the onlooker holding an unspoken conversation. My art bridges a relationship between the viewer and the subject to create a shared space of intimacy and trust. My desire is to express emotionally powerful artwork in which people witness a complex reflection of themselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a weekend trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Brooklyn and I consider it the center of the black creative universe. My best friend must see some of the local shops there where I’ve painted murals, like Playground Coffee shop, and Brooklyn Blooms, a black-owned flower business founded by a friend of mine. Warm weather permitting, I’d hit a day party in Brooklyn or festival someplace, (I love to dance) or completely switch it up and head to Manhattan for a museum day (the Whitney) or gallery hopping in Chelsea. Jajaja Plantas Mexicana is in the works for lunch. After, we’d swing by Soho, and people watch a bit then mosey to Gelateria for gelato before heading back over the bridge. For dinner, we’d have a couple of options including Risbo BK in Flatbush for mouthwatering French inspired cuisine, Awash, one of my favorite Ethiopian restaurants, or to Trad Room for Japanese ramen (a delicious recent discovery). Later for cocktails and music we’d hit Bunton’s World Famous or slide to our Wicked Lady.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In order, it goes God, Family, and Community. Through my family, my dedicated mother, supportive father, grandmothers, and devoted aunts and uncle, I became aware of God’s influence in my life. I realized being a creator meant I shared a divine similarity with the architect of the universe. By honoring my creative urges, I began to show up and serve my community. That didn’t come without the need for even more guidance. Julia Cameron’s workbook, “The Artist’s Way” had such an impact on my life and still does today. This book helped me realize internalized blockages I had within myself (adopted from external sources and society) that prevented me from expressing myself to my full creative potential. Once I identified those blockages through the coursework in her book, I was able to authentically express my creativity unhindered. Julia Cameron’s creative work further impacted me in a way that was serendipitous and organic. I discovered that people were feeling the same message in my art and saw their reflection in the work I made.

Website: www.tiffany-baker.com

Instagram: hiccupbk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyebaker/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studioHBKart/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFX2pAgD3i0&t=283s

Other: “J is for Justice” children’s book. Illustrated by Tiffany Baker available 2/21/23

Where to purchase: 
Amazon:

Itasca:
Barnes and noble:

Image Credits
(credit also in titles of applicable images) all other images provided by the artist, Tiffany Baker Jason Bailey Naeem Douglass Tiffany -Mural-Brooklyn-blooms credit: Khalil Wright

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.