We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Robin Baker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Robin below.

Robin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

In the early 2000’s my life circumstances changed, and I went from living in a huge Victorian home to a small apartment. I went from having a huge studio space to a tiny corner in my bedroom and when I talked to people or showed pictures of my art, they would say, “Where can I view it in person?” And my answer would be, “Um…in my bedroom.” It wasn’t an answer that was conducive for generating patrons, sales were sparse, and I struggled financially.

Then in late 2015 I heard from a friend that a studio space in Hardy & Nance was available. It was one of the smallest studios in the building and while the rent was certainly reasonable, I knew it was still out of my range, but I took a leap of faith and rented it. A couple weeks later H&N had an open studio and much to my surprise I sold enough artwork to cover my rent for almost six months. Life was all roses for a couple years…then Hurricane Harvey struck, and the studio complex flooded, I lost a lot of art and although the complex was repaired and up and running 30 days later (thanks to a great community), art was probably the last thing on most people’s minds as we rebuilt the city. I had to make a decision whether to give it all up or take another leap of faith. I took the leap, and moved to a slightly larger, more visible studio and sales slowly climbed. Nearly two years later an opportunity arose, when a much large studio became available… It was more than double my current rent, but I didn’t hesitate. I took the risk without even thinking about it.

My new larger studio meant I could finally create large scale works; the location was perfect, I thrived and then…Covid.

No need to go into great detail here, it was the same for everyone. The entire world shut down, zero sales, no income, yet I was determined to get through it all somehow. One of my best friends. Wood Fancher Anthony also a Hardy & Nance artist was sitting in my studio, and we pondered how to survive. He jokingly said, “Lets combine our studios and save rent. I laughed. I did not want to share a studio, I liked being alone, but a week later that’s exactly what we did. It was the of the biggest risks I’d make. We’ve since created RobinWood Art Studio. We collaborate together on artwork. And I have to confess…Collaborating with Wood is exciting and the art we work together on is some of the best art either of us has ever created.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My art teacher hated me. No, really. She did. I won best in show at the school district student art show so she could not flunk me…it was a glorious moment. Sadly, it’s all been downhill since then.

Kidding aside, I’m a figurative acrylic artist with limited vision. I see a lot of shadow and light. So, I use that to my advantage and the vast majority of my art is simple, high contrast black and white. My style is distinctive and while folks may not know my name, they know my art, hence the tag line, “Robin Baker, the best-known unknown artist in Houston”

I’m probably best known for my figurative male nude portraits. It’s a niche area that I literally fell into, but people responded to and although I also create people fully clothed and l have ventured into landscapes, my nudes remain the mainstay of my business. Having said that, I expect the RobinWood collaborations will eventually take over as Wood and I receive critical praise for our groundbreaking art.

For those interested, RobinWood Art Studio is located within Hardy & Nance Art Studios and we are there nearly every Saturday and by appointment..

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met Wood Fancher Anthony in early 2016 when he was one of the artists chosen for an open call art show. He introduced himself and I did not like him. It was his first exposure to the artist complex, and he kept returning month after month, always stopping by my studio to visit. Gradually, he began to grow on me, and he convinced me to work on a collaboration for the Mash Up show. I was skeptical. Our styles are so different. Me, acrylic black and white. Wood paints with oil and is known for his bright vibrant use of color. But our contrasting style works. Our first piece did not sell, yet we worked together for the annual Mash Up show each year and once we became studio mates, we worked and planned a collaborative show for 2021. One year in the making, 30 works of art and it was a critical success. We’ve become business partners and best friends.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My side hustle was / is to monetize my art beyond more than selling an original or print. I decided it would be interesting to create custom jigsaw puzzles using my artwork. I make these 100-piece jigsaws that measure a mere 8×10″. and are priced at $25. That seems high for such a small puzzle, but I was banking on the idea that people would be attracted to a small yet extremely difficult black and white (no gradients) puzzle featuring male nudes would sell. And they did. I set up an ecommerce store and when the pandemic was at its height with most people bored in lockdown needing a distraction, sales exploded. I was selling 20-30 puzzles a day and it sustained me during the worst of the pandemic.

Sales have naturally slowed, my side hustle is still a side hustle but between current sales and taking custom orders the general public, plus making puzzles from other artists allows me enough income to grow our business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.robinbaker.art
• Instagram: @robinbakerart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robin.baker.artist/