John Baker of Waterford is trying his hand at freelance art, with the help of Family Treasures photo studio of Independence Township.
“He makes any photo into a piece of art,” said Brenda Hathaway, who owns Family Treasures with her sister, Laura Capua. “They’re just beautiful and natural. It’s a good idea.”
Assignments include houses and landscapes, wedding couples, and other milestone portraits.
‘Painting is a very satisfying thing to do. It relaxes you,” said Baker. “For me, it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes I surprise myself.”
He worked in purchasing management, living in seven states with his wife, Judy, and family, and settling in Waterford seven years ago.
When he was laid off, he decided to give art a try as a business.
“I realized I could do paintings ? people want them,” he said. “I’ve received requests from realtors for painting as gifts to clients.”
He paints from photo prints, supplied by the client or taken himself.
“It’s a great idea. No one else does it, turning photos into paintings,” she said. “His houses are unbelievable.”
He is self trained, creating works of art starting in 1973.
“I’ve been an artist all my life,” he said. “It just dawned on me one day to try it. I started with pencil sketches and oil pastels, then expanded to watercolors.”
His paintings focused on auto racing, baseball, and other interests.
“I’ve loved auto racing my whole life,” he said. “There was a racetrack almost in my backyard growing up.”
As a marketing-team member at University of Findlay, his job was to create posters and other artwork.
“I painted a seven-and-a-half-foot-tall eagle with an American banner in 1979,” he said. “In 2009, I got a phone call from the school ? the professor loved it so much, he kept it, and framed it behind glass. It hangs in the main administration building ? it’s an honor.”
Baker met Hathaway at a North Oakland Business Networking meeting this past November, and spreads the word at Coffee Club meetings, Thursday mornings at Clarkston United Methodist Church.
“Networking’s good ? you meet a lot of really nice people and learn about local businesses,” Hathaway said.
He will display his artwork at the ABC Harley-Davidson Open House, April 24, at 4405 Highland Road in Waterford.
“I painted the owner with a motorcycle, to be put on display,” Baker said.
He partnered with Family Treasures this past December.
“My drawing table has had something on it ever since,” he said.
For more information, contact Baker at 248-681-9206 or johnrbaker1313@yahoo.com. Family Treasures is located at 7784 Dixie Highway, Suite F, in Independence Township.