My goals while painting

1.     Respect and revel in the medium.  I paint carefully, even when painting with minimal intermediation (e.g., pouring).  This reflects my attempts to control the things I do, but also reflects my respect for the medium.  What coverage, uses, and final surfaces will be most visually compelling?  What applications will maximize the longevity of the finished work?

2.     Provide (or, at times, imply) detail that rewards repeated viewing. 

3.     Provide sufficient iconographic ambiguity to reward repeated viewing.

Finding hope

Two of my recent works explicitly explore the need to find light and hope amid oppressive circumstances, and I’ve titled them so. 

Dusk of Agony (https://www.jwharrington.com/figurativ-paintings/dusk-of-agony) depicts a dramatic sunset during the smoke that pervaded the northwest US during the peak of wildfire season – fires in California, Oregon, and Washington produced smoke that covered much of the eastern Pacific Ocean and carried back north and west.  It’s dusk, dark, threatening, and yet has openings of sunlight and a deep, deep blue waterscape.  I hope it really does depict the dusk of our shared agonies.

Season of Darkness, Season of Light (https://www.jwharrington.com/figurativ-paintings) loosely depicts late afternoon (believe it or not, once you look at it) during the same period, looking over the Tacoma Narrows toward the Narrows Bridge.  It’s nearly monochromatic (which was surprisingly gratifying to render), but has impressionistic points of light, reflecting off the water from the barely visible sun.  Again, I’ve titled it to provide a sense of hope. 

Non-objective art

As you know, I love visual abstraction.  “Abstract” art may reflect something actually seen – but abstracted to heighten the impact.  Impressionist paintings are great examples of this, as are Expressionist paintings.  Further back in time, Mannerist painting elongated limbs and exaggerated human gestures, to heighten the drama of scenes that the viewer can interpret from their own experiences. 

One extreme of abstraction is often called “non-objective,” because it contains no reference to actual objects.  This is discomforting for some viewers, who want to relate a painting to something familiar or even to some thing imagined.  However, it gives the mind totally free rein to interpret meanings or to revel in the visual stimulation without meanings.  Non-objective pieces are “ever green” – always fresh for the viewer, who can see something different at each viewing.

Automaton (https://www.jwharrington.com/other-abstractions/automaton) is such a piece, presenting bold colors against a white background.  (Against white, even black appears as a bold color.)  I painted this as flat as possible, using acrylic gouache, to provide no texture – just color and shape.

Cusp (https://www.jwharrington.com/other-abstractions) is a new favorite of mine, because it uses a mix of pigments (Cobalt Blue and Ultramarine Blue) to yield a blue so “deep” I feel I can swim in it.  To heighten the contrast, I’ve surrounded the blue (graded from pale to deep) with white.  And what role does that bright red circle (or sphere?) play in the composition?

Color Abstraction 30 (https://www.jwharrington.com/color-abstractions) continues the series I’ve been working on for years:  each painting is 24” x 24”, with strictly straight lines or shapes on a solid background.  Here we have interlaced rectangles in white, Cobalt Blue, and a rich, ruddy brown.  I’ve created several interpretations of this composition, and have placed it in the entry of our house, where I can create new interpretations every time I come home.  (I only wish that others could visit and see it – it could be a great conversation piece.)

The Path

I’ve enjoyed the feedback I’ve gotten on The Path. It’s meant to be somewhat enigmatic — in the placement and intent of the “narrator” (who’s on the path? are they on it or above it?); in the nature of the black void on the right; and the ultimate destination of this solitary path. A fellow artist said she sees the texture within the path itself as a reflection — or maybe even an on-the-ground manifestation — of the stars in the sky above. I love that.