Greetings. My name is Brittany Anne Baum.  A self-taught African American painter and illustrator based out of  my south Jersey studio. My body of work focuses on imaginative and whimsical portraits depicting black women in everyday situations.  My oil paintings and marker illustrations feature black women in their self-care routines and showcases the beauty and uniqueness of these women. My work is heavily inspired by Afrocentricity as well as vintage editorial works from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

I grew up in Orlando, Florida where my art career bloomed. I went through a life changing and devastating heartbreak in 2014 that catapulted my art journey. For me to feel better about myself as a woman and to help heal my broken heart, I returned to my childhood love of drawing and eventually got into painting. My self-esteem and self-worth were destroyed at the time, so I created a world of beautiful and confident women as a form of coping with my own identity.  My work was sort of a manifestation. I created a life I wanted for myself through  my drawings and paintings.

As a visual artist, I feel an extreme obligation to paint and illustrate with proper representation as well as help the viewer visualize strength, power, and femininity in each of my pieces. I have a responsibility to show women that they can be beautiful and important even if they find themselves alone. Most of  my paintings are of women alone in the portrait which is very intentional.

My work requires ongoing experimentations which forces me  to use many different mediums such as oil paints and pastels, markers, and colored pencils and even graphite and charcoal.  

With my ever-evolving approach to art, my ultimate goal is for the viewers to see vulnerability, poise, grace and most of all self-love and expression in my body of work. You will see me through the eyes of every woman I paint. It’s all in the eyes.

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