Cover | Lisa Haderlie Baker

The Plane Tree Allée at Sunset, Crab Cove, Alameda (gouache on heavy rag paper). Lisa Haderlie Baker, who lives and works in Alameda, has been a painter and illustrator for over 40 years. Plane Tree Allée depicts a row of sycamores that extend along a path that used to be part of Neptune Beach in Alameda, a huge amusement park that had its heyday between the two world wars. Called the Coney Island of the West, it had public baths, dance halls, a huge saltwater swimming pool, and roller coasters. Now all that is left of the rowdy Neptune Beach is this quiet path between the trees, and the view of the Bay.
Most of Baker’s paintings portray, like this one, quiet, mysterious, secret landscapes of the Bay Area. She is especially drawn to Alameda’s old neighborhoods and quiet gardens and shorelines, often at sunset or twilight. Baker’s work is in many private collections, and is exhibited at ACCI Gallery in Berkeley and at Vines Cafe and Gallery in Alameda. ACCI, Castle in the Air in Berkeley, and Books Inc. in Alameda carry an extensive line of greeting cards printed from her paintings. Baker also regularly creates commissioned pieces. See more of her work at manopanthea.blogspot.com or contact her at manopanthea@yahoo.com.

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