Walk in downtown Baker City and you’re bound to see Tom Novak’s artistic touch.

Several murals grace buildings along Broadway Street — in June 2024, Novak added a fresh coat of paint to one, a landscape of yellow arrowleaf balsamroot at the Baker Food Co-op finished in 1995.

Eighteen painted panels depicting scenes from Baker County’s past decorate the exterior of the Baker Heritage Museum.

And if you walk past Betty’s Books on Main Street, a bronze sculpture will catch your eye titled “The Evolution of Human Consciousness.” Novak started carving book shapes out of dense foam in 2018 for this piece, which was bronzed by Blue Mountain Fine Art in the fall of 2021.

Those are a few examples of his public art — Novak’s paintings can be found in numerous households and many sat for a caricature drawing over the years during Miners Jubilee.

Now, his pieces can be found in Room 31 at Churchill School, 3451 Broadway St. Tour his art, and see each month’s featured artist, during the First Friday art walk.

About the artist

Novak attended the Art Institute of Chicago and moved to the Baker City area in 1975. He opened an art studio in 1979.

“And Baker has supported me all these years — allowed me to be what I wanted to be,” he said. “It brings me tremendous joy.”

He currently has paintings on display in the Room 31 Sculpture gallery at Churchill School in Baker City.