Lanning Gallery Welcomes Landscapes of Johnathan Harris

Written by Liz Holden Thursday, 25 March 2010 21:14

SEDONA, AZ - For its “1^st Friday Gallery Tour” reception on April 2, 5-8 pm, Sedona’s Lanning Gallery welcomes artist Johnathan Harris to town and showcases his landscape paintings full of unrestrained color.  Harris paints in acrylics inspired by landscapes that move him.  The beauty of his unique style is that he begins his depiction of each scene painting in Realism – then departs from it just enough to capture the full emotions the scene evoked in him.  These dynamic representations, in colors heightened a touch beyond real, have the tremendous power to draw viewers in, feeling a wealth of emotions along the way.  “My art gives the viewer a window into a perception of a reality in which I find refuge,” Harris states.

The artist knew by the time he was in high school he would become a full-time artist; but he also knew people who had majored in art only to find themselves working in other fields with no time left for creativity.  His solution was to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing Management while minoring in Fine Art, arming himself with the know-how to develop a career as a professional artist.  This plan has served him well.  Originally from Arkansas it was Harris’s time in Santa Fe and the Southwest that jump-started his professional career.

“I first develop my ideas for a painting by visiting a location and allowing the landscape to influence me,” Harris explains; “I then photograph the location extensively. When I return to my studio, I work from photographs and memories of the chosen landscape. Expression with color allows me to be free while creating the landscape in the way that I perceive it … I attempt to capture on canvas the sensations and revelations I experience when I am in the midst of nature."

Harris paints from dark to light, leaving dark borders around lighter forms to further impact the light and color that so thoroughly capture the immediacy of his heartfelt interaction with nature.  “When I look at Southwestern landscapes, I see the stark contrast of earth and sky … mountain and valley … sand and sage,” Harris states. 

Stop in to meet the artist and explore his paintings of deserts, rolling hills and gorges, aspen forests, dramatic skies and so much more.  For further information: Lanning Gallery, Hozho Center, 431 S.R. 179, Sedona, AZ.  928-282-6865 or www.lanninggallery.com.  Open daily: 10-6:00 Mon-Sat, 11-5 Sun.