Baker Bedraoui Drissi is one of the first Mobile Digital Artists of the Smartphone era.
In his hometown Tetouan, Morocco, he made more than 300 digital masterpieces that he kept for himself for a very long time, until his son persuaded him to showcase his art to the world.
Baker’s digital art journey started by painting pieces with a ‘straight-forward’ Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone in 2013... but before we delve into this chapter though, let’s go back to the origins of where his connection with art truly begun – the late 1950s.
Baker was born into a conservative Moroccan family of 11 brothers and sisters. His passion for art was born at a very young age, however, drawing and painting were perceived by Moroccan society as non-conventional and almost like proscribed. From the moment he begun to express his passion for painting to those near to him, he, unfortunately, found himself being pushed away from chasing his dream and asked to concentrate on studying instead.
Despite him having continued pen drawing on the back of his books, societal pressures led to him later dropping his passion to pursue his studies in France. After his graduation, Baker returned to work in Morocco in the banking industry and after some time, he moved to the construction industry and lead one of the most exquisite and highly regarded touristic construction projects in North Morocco.
In fact, while leading the above-mentioned touristic project, his desire for artistic expression enabled him to independently design gardens, green spaces, fountains, and pools – seems that opportunities to express himself artistically were finding him, even if he was advised to stop chasing them. While designing the gardens' layouts, he was reunited with his passion for painting and found himself spending long hours on his smartphone – drawing, drawing and drawing... non-stop. This irresistible fervor drove him to paint at red lights; while walking; while waiting for his wife and kids; at weddings and many more seemingly ‘unconventional’ places.
Zooming forward and almost four decades after dropping his pen and pencil, Baker’s passion and talent has been reborn after having built a portfolio of more than 300 artworks that he is now exposing on his website and Instagram account.
Today, Baker released his Genesis Collection of 3 pieces as NFTs on FoundationApp, and he is also auctioning a fourth piece for charity to build a well in a Moroccan Village without clean water.
In his hometown Tetouan, Morocco, he made more than 300 digital masterpieces that he kept for himself for a very long time, until his son persuaded him to showcase his art to the world.
Baker’s digital art journey started by painting pieces with a ‘straight-forward’ Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone in 2013... but before we delve into this chapter though, let’s go back to the origins of where his connection with art truly begun – the late 1950s.
Baker was born into a conservative Moroccan family of 11 brothers and sisters. His passion for art was born at a very young age, however, drawing and painting were perceived by Moroccan society as non-conventional and almost like proscribed. From the moment he begun to express his passion for painting to those near to him, he, unfortunately, found himself being pushed away from chasing his dream and asked to concentrate on studying instead.
Despite him having continued pen drawing on the back of his books, societal pressures led to him later dropping his passion to pursue his studies in France. After his graduation, Baker returned to work in Morocco in the banking industry and after some time, he moved to the construction industry and lead one of the most exquisite and highly regarded touristic construction projects in North Morocco.
In fact, while leading the above-mentioned touristic project, his desire for artistic expression enabled him to independently design gardens, green spaces, fountains, and pools – seems that opportunities to express himself artistically were finding him, even if he was advised to stop chasing them. While designing the gardens' layouts, he was reunited with his passion for painting and found himself spending long hours on his smartphone – drawing, drawing and drawing... non-stop. This irresistible fervor drove him to paint at red lights; while walking; while waiting for his wife and kids; at weddings and many more seemingly ‘unconventional’ places.
Zooming forward and almost four decades after dropping his pen and pencil, Baker’s passion and talent has been reborn after having built a portfolio of more than 300 artworks that he is now exposing on his website and Instagram account.
Today, Baker released his Genesis Collection of 3 pieces as NFTs on FoundationApp, and he is also auctioning a fourth piece for charity to build a well in a Moroccan Village without clean water.
