Artist Biography: Joel Robert Harris -Venice California

Biography: Joel R Harris

Landscape Painting

Joel plays the piano

Lily Pond

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I began drawing at an early age and saw it as a way to express myself creatively. I feel a sense of freedom when I am involved in the creative arts. Many experiences in life, school, college, and society, have tried to mold me into something more structured and sterile, and less creative and imaginative. I felt like I needed a challenge in life --something more stimulating --so in 1995 I joined the US Marines and was trained in landmine removal and bridge demolition with explosives. Over a period of four years I was stationed in Australia, Okinawa, Korea, California, and North Carolina.

All throughout life I have been close to art, but I didn't begin painting until early in 2002. Previously, my creativity came out in the form of pen and ink on scrapbook paper, or pencil sketches. Since my explosion into a new colorful life, I have followed many new paths. In 2002 I sold everything I owned and traveled to Europe to volunteer on organic farms in France and Spain. I also hiked 350 miles across Northern Spain on an ancient pilgrimage route. It was this amazing journey into Spain that led me to the clear understanding for the first time in my life that I was an artist.

After Spain, I moved to Portland, Oregon and lived there from 2002 to 2006 where I began showing my artwork in cafes and restaurants. Eventually I had paintings on display in several galleries in Oregon and Northern California. This allowed me to work full time as an artist, and spare time to record a solo piano album. After having several years to think about life and question my reality, I felt I needed to disconnect from the western culture in order to find answers. This led me to the Amazon jungles of Peru on a voyage of self discovery. Once again, I sold everything I owned, and flew to Peru where I ended up living within a native Shipibo community near Pucallpa.

After many divine encounters and magical experiences in Peru, my questions found answers, and after 1 year in the Amazon, it was time to head back to America. My new work is a reflection of the lessons I learned while in Peru --lessons about life, love, freedom, reality, trust, belief, and everything in between. I plan to have a memoir published November 2008, which is a personal narrative of my search for Truth. I see a new world emerging from its dream of separation, and I am excited to share my discoveries with others.