10 THE ART OBSERVER August 2009 By Gaynor Lloyd DARREN BAKER  is now recog- nised as one of Britain’s leading portrait painters. Born in 1976 he has already, at a relatively young age, established himself as a prominent artist within the classical realism genre. Taking his inspiration from the Old Masters and contemporary realist painters he has perfected a technique which reflects his extraordinary vision. After graduating from Bradford Art College in 1998 Darren exhibited his work in London and at the age of 23 was invited to exhibit his paintings at a UK millennium show in New York. In 2000 he was appointed offi- cial artist of The Professional Footballer’s Association (PFA). He still holds this post which is an ongoing agreement. As a result, Darren has produced an impressive portfolio of portraits for personalities and sports clubs. As well as PFA Footballer of the Year portraits of players including John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Teddy Sheringham, he has also completed portraits of other sportsmen such as Andrew Flintoff, Jonny Wilkinson and Lewis Hamilton. The centenary painting that was commissioned by the PFA, together with portraits of the PFA’s Chief Executive, Gordon Taylor, hang in Taylor’s office but will eventually be housed in a PFA museum which is a long term project. More recently, in July this year, another painting that was commissioned by the PFA was hung in the main corridor of the New Children’s Hospital in Manchester. Darren Baker was at the unveiling of his impressive oil painting on canvas which measures 1 x 1.5m. The painting was presented to the new hospital along with a cheque for one million pounds that had been raised by the PFA. The painting, ‘PFA Football Crowd’, was a combination concept between Darren Baker and Gordon Taylor. Darren said “Gordon suggested the idea of a crowd scene and this developed into a crowd consisting of famous PFA winners and impor- tant figures in the union’s history. I selected Wembley as the backdrop, since I had taken some prior references at an England game last year, and the home of English football seemed the natural setting to compose the picture”. Signed limited edition prints of the ‘PFA Football Crowd’ will be published by Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Ltd during this autumn. Requests for the print have already been made and orders are now being taken. Ten percent of every sale will be donated to the New Children’s Hospital in Manchester. Darren Baker’s reputation as a sports painter was further recog- nised when he was recently appointed an official artist to the 2012 Olympic Games. He has Classical Flowers The Artist chosen to paint the Queen’s portrait for her 85th birthday Polo Clash Morning Nude Lady Butterfly PFA Football Crowd