About

A LITTLE ABOUT ME...

I have been a freelance illustrator & designer for a number of years, working initially as a food illustrator for editorial & book publishing and packaging design, for many major brands. My work has been used to illustrate cookery columns for magazines such as Country Living & Good Housekeeping. Other commissions have included tea packaging for Waitrose, toiletries for Marks & Spencer, menus for British Airways, wine labels for Asda & watercolour press ads for Timotei shampoo. I have illustrated articles in Breathe and Teen Breathe on the subject of climate change & protecting our planet, a subject close to my heart.

Recently, I have illustrated children’s non-fiction titles, including ‘Protecting the Planet. ‘The Ice Journey of the Polar Bear’ published by Walker Books 2024 & Candlewick Press Autumn 2025.

‘Around the World in 80 Buildings’ Welbeck. Other titles include ‘The Deep Blue’ published by Quarto and ‘One Million Insects’ published by Welbeck Children’s Books.

I have two new non-fiction titles due to be published in 2025.

I was a partner and designer for a greeting card company that I founded with worldwide distribution, supplying stores such as John Lewis, Paperchase, Fortnum & Mason and Waterstones in the UK. A great foodie commission was to paint delicious ingredients for The Selfridges Food Hall brochure. A very different subject matter but equally inspiring was a commission for the book 'Angels' this led me on a journey that ended at Lambeth Palace where my paintings were exhibited. Since then I have worked as a freelance designer/illustrator for stores such as Whittard of Chelsea, Paperchase & packaging companies designing ranges of everyday and seasonal stationery & homeware. I am happy to work in a range of styles using traditional and digital media.

My work is diverse in subject matter and technique, the common thread that runs through it is a love of colour, textures and layers. Perhaps one of my favourite jobs to date was a commission to travel around the Greek Islands painting landscapes and food.

I live in Bath UK with my husband and three children.

I have a keen interest in encouraging creativity in education and worked for some years as an Artist in Residence on projects within Reception classes.

Clients include: The Folio Society, Quarto Kids, Welbeck Kids, Walker Books, Octopus Publishing, Pavillion Books, Penguin, The BBC, Conran Design, Fitch & Co., J.Walter Thompson, Lewis Moberly, Michael Peters & Partners, British Airways, Interiors Magazine, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Homes & Gardens, The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Teen Breathe, Breathe, Waitrose, Asda, Sainsbury's, Next, Boots, Marks & Spencer & Selfridges.

PDF CV available upon request.

“Lou Baker Smith’s images have an inimitable wistful quality that we can’t get enough of. The moments of what we’ll call “slow living” that she captures so eloquently in her scenery– a pot of geraniums, a vase of ranunculi, a lemon on a cutting board– remind us of the most exquisite subtle moments in our own travels: smelling fresh produce at a local market, or treating oneself to a bouquet (ideally foraged from some sort of Edenic oasis in the Cyclades). We also love the delicate color palettes of Smith’s cards and the ways in which they are layered to create texture while maximizing emotional impact– lovely!”

Molly Beauchemin (Editor-in-Chief.) GARDEN COLLAGE MAGAZINE

"Lou Baker Smith, is a fabulous artist to work with. She is so professional and is a perfectionist producing beautiful art full of life, texture and amazing colours. I truly love her work." Susi Martin QED Publishing