ART UPDATE

Tomorrow June 4 I will be in an art show in Irvine. This is my fourth year. So if you see this blog and you don't live in France or Sacramento come on down and see all the art. It is always fun. I think we take art for granted. Just think if there was no art in the world. Or the world was like the moon one color, grey scale. Everything we have around us man made from the design of your car to the junk mail coupons you get was designed by some human that liked to draw in school more than others. It gets crazy when you look at Rubens' paintings or the St. Remy paintings by Van Gogh. (too much pastis?) Man communicates through the visual arts, verse and song. It is universal. Here are a few painting more to share. Some old. Some new.

Link for Irvine show: Click Here

 Marche Provençal

 Allan's Truck

 Alabama Chicken Coup


Alabama Trees

Newport Harbor

Recent Paintings

 Some of the paintings below will be in my now extended show April 16 & 17. You'll have to come to the show to see which ones will be there. We went to Arizona a few weekends ago and I painted 4 small paintings. The painting of two cactus I did as a card for my wife Connie's birthday. The desert is much different than painting in California where I live. A watercolorist from the Tuscon area, who by the way does beautiful desert renditions, told me the secret to painting in the desert is understanding the light. That was a good tip. The desert is filled with stunning value contrast if we take the time to look. The last painting is another one from France that I did from a photo I took last summer. It is of the Mediterranean sea side town of Cassis. I rendered it a bit in ink first, then painted watercolor on top of that. Problem was the ink wasn't waterproof, but it did ad an effect. Hope you enjoy these paintings. Double click on any painting to see a larger version.

Spring Art Show

I will be having an art show in my house again Saturday April 16, 1-5 PM. This will be the second time I have had a show in my home. These shows are a lot of work for me, but also a lot of fun. It is amazing how art has a way of bringing people together. I am honored by all the people that come. This painting I did because I wanted to try paint all the piers in Orange county. This pier is the Balboa Pier down on Balboa Island. Below are more paintings that I will have in the show. 

The Second painting is from a painting in nearby Mile Square Park in Fountain valley where I live. At the time I painted it I wasn't sure if I liked it. But I pulled it out of storage and I actually like the tree because I achieved what I set out to do, which was to create a sense of space in the painting. I liked also the afternoon sun lighting up the trunk of the tree. 

The next painting below is a re-run. I painted it once before but on location on two separate occasions. It is a fountain at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, which is also in Southern California. The next painting down is the San Juan Mission. The place where the swallows go. Finally a little bit of fun in a painting entitled "Praise". I painted this for a painting class I took. I got my inspiration from Diego Rivera the Mexican Muralist. I was intrigued with the way Rivera described form by employing horizontal lines to represent the "core shadow".  I painted it with no direction or plan, only a concept and listened to Classical music. I hope you can come to my show.

  

Two Paintings

Here are two paintings I have recently completed. The first painting, Fontaine à Aix, I started last summer. I sketched in the design but debated whether I should put in figures. It sat unpainted for 6 months. I finally decided a month ago to place 5 figures to the right of the fountain. That did not work. The figures were competing with the fountain which I intended as the center of interest. So the viewer thought what is this a story about? is it about a lonely, serene fountain or a bunch of Italian tourists? Finally I  washed out four of the figures.

The still life I did with Chardin in mind. He was a French painter who is notable for his still life paintings. This was a project for my watercolor workshop at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. 


DOUBLE CLICK the photos to see larger renditions. to see more work go to www.kenharris.com

Out of the Archives

Above are some oldies, but paintings I personally like. They were painted a couple of years ago. The Arno rover painting is painted on Yupo, a synthetic plastic paper designed for printing. Yet it does watercolor kind of cool. The painting of the park in Huntington Beach is one of many that I have done. I like the old gum trees (eucalyptus) there. They have such character and charm. And finally a small acrylic painting I did on plywood (8" x 10"). It is from the Cinque Terra region of Italy. My son (or daughter-in-law) took both of the photos in Italy which were the basis for the two paintings above. The park picture I most likely did on location. If you are interested in buying any of my paintings and they have not already been sold email me at: ken@kenharris.com. If you want to see a larger version of any of the paintings on this blog double click that painting.

Quick Watercolor Sketches

Above are some of my latest more abstract watercolors. Two of the paintings Crystal Cove and Cape Porpoise were painted from from photos I had taken on location. The painting of Mile Square Park At Dusk was painted on location last December. I was there with the class that I teach at Vanguard University.  It was cold and foggy. I was putting on the paint thick and it was not drying. I figured I would finish it at home later. Suddenly my easel collapsed and the water can that was attached to my easel spilled completely on the painting. It actually looked better. So I continued to work on it and did finish it at home. It was a good lesson for me to think about color and abstract patterns. I will discuss abstract patterns and what it means to a painting in a later blog. Double click on any image to see a larger version of the painting.

2011 Watercolor Calendar Now Available

I just finished my 2011 watercolor calendar. It is available for for $12.00 plus the cost of postage to your home. The above watercolor is on the cover. This painting is of Crystal Cove. I did it from a photograph I took when I was there. Crystal Cove is one of our local Orange County, California beaches. I painted this with just the three primary colors from Daniel Smith, Ultramarine Blue, Hansa Yellow Medium and Perylene Red.