My favorite painter of Chinoiserie scenes, Harrison Howard, has just updated his site with new works including one of my favorites, "The Architect", which is seen above. Harrison's paintings and prints are like instant mood lifters to me. How can one not be charmed by scenes with books, curtains, trellis, pagodas, butterflies, and coral? Not to mention those hard working figures who are busy painting, arranging curtains, and crab baiting. And I thought blogging kept me busy!
I've included a sampling of Harrison's work, but do visit his website to see more Chinoiserie scenes.
"The Two Gardeners"
"Bibliophile"
"The Dowry"
"Crab Baiting"
"Arranging Drapery"
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Harrison Howard Has Been Hard at Work
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They really are so delightful and you are right about their being a mood lifter. The colors!
ReplyDeleteJennifer-He is a really lovely and talented man and I love his work. Seasons Magazine Summer 2009 issue did a wonderful article on him as well that is available online.
ReplyDeletePatricia- The colors are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteBeth- A very kind man indeed. That was a great article!
ReplyDeleteThis the first time I have seen his work. Thank you. They are bright and colorful. You made me smile.
ReplyDeleteThese are ABSOLUTELY lovely!
ReplyDeleteThe figures and the colors are so happy. I love the black background. He extends the whimsy of chinoiserie to new heights. Thanks for the pick-me-up.
ReplyDeleteThese are fabulous! I especially like the Hanging Draperies. Fun titles for fun (but very talented) work.
ReplyDeleteLove the colors! I think the two with the books are my favorites. Will definitely check out the site.
ReplyDeleteHarrison just keeps outdoing himself! He is such a talented person and more importantly, a true gentleman and class act. Thanks for showing his latest, Jennifer - I LOVE these.
ReplyDeleteThese are gorgeous! I love the first one as well!!!
ReplyDeleteThese are magical and refer back to my childhood dreams and ideas of China. An 'orientalist' fantasy, I admit, but one I will always love.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen his work before - I literally said "ooooooh!" out loud! Love this. Just went to his online gallery.
ReplyDeleteJennifer-
ReplyDeleteThey are bright and cheerful--but the key element he does so well is humor, wit and delight.
He avoids the scholarly approach or the heavily pedantic style in favor of levity and brightness.He goes beyond mere decoration and draws the viewer in to a little play happening in one-dimension that almost looks 3-D.
His colors are so pitch-perfect and contemporary, yet feel entirely correct for the period.Superb artistry as well. Bravo to such a clever and disciplined talent.
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteYou continue to bring us the latest and greatest - Check seasonsmagazine.com every other month as Harrison is creating new covers for our magazine. We have received such great responses from his exceptional work. Justin Nangle, Saint Louis Seasons Magazine.
I just checked Harrison's website and I loved it!
ReplyDeletei do like these from harrison howard. must have one! Soon!
ReplyDeleteI love these designs- they definitely have a hollywood 30's look- the mischievous faces- so simple but with such expression. la
ReplyDeleteContemporary surrealism. Is that snails in a pink tree with a free palestine cloth dripping off it? They go way beyond chinoiserie.
ReplyDeleteI already fell happier. Gratitude to you & Howard!!!
ReplyDeleteHis work is always so stunning! I love his imagination and playful heart. What a great talent.
ReplyDeletei think a book of harrison's chinoiseries is called for. all in favor say "oui!"
ReplyDeleteI know from a previous post that you have one of his paintings, Jennifer. I've been wanting one ever since that post, but I can't decide on one or two. Do you still have just one and how do you have it framed and in what type of framing arrangement on your wall?
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Kathy, I now have two. I just got my second one so now I'm ready to have both of them framed. I went for two because sometimes I think it's better to have pairs of things, including prints. Actually, four would be great now that I think of it! Since I only have two I'm going to hang them on a short wall (not a long wall b/c I think the prints would get lost). I think I'll hang one of top of the other. In terms of framing, I think I'll do a thin gold frame and possibly a colored mat, but I want to be careful about not making the prints look too cutesy. Have I made any sense at all? Hope this helps!
ReplyDelete