A Winner Has Been Selected for 2010!

“My wish is that my artwork will help others open their hearts. I make each piece with the intention that it will find a home where it will inspire and uplift; create peace, balance, harmony, and happiness. Through my art, I hope to contribute to the expansion of love and awareness on our planet.”

Biography:
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, South 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 lived in a native Shipibo community near Pucallpa.

After some eye-opening transformative 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 have just published a memoir, which is a personal narrative of my search for Truth. I see a new world emerging from its dream of fear and separation, and I am excited to share my discoveries with others. I also recently created a WAKE UP! "art car" with my 1991 Ford van. Check it out!

..Links: New Book: Journal: Into the Heart of the Amazon in search of Truth

Solo and Group Exhibitions

2009 -Fritto Misto, Santa Monica, CA
Manager: Maxwell, 310-458-2829

2008 -Present State Street Gallery, Madison, WI
Gallery Curators: Piper and Christina, 608-819-0304

2005 -Present DragonFire Fine Art Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR
Gallery Owners: Eeva and Mari, 503-436-1533

2004 -Present Options Gallery, Healdsburg, CA
Gallery Owner: Sue Sacks, 707-431-8861

2005 -2007 Barclay Gallery, Sisters, OR
Gallery Owner: Sandra Mayernik, 541-549-1050

2004 -2005 Zeek Gallery, Salem, OR
Gallery Owner: Mary Lou Zeek, 503-581-3229

2004 -Ballantyne and Douglass Fine Art Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR
Gallery Owner: Geoff Hastings

2003 -Graystone Gallery, Portland, OR
Gallery Owner: Bill Murray, 503-775-2016

Commissions
Selected Private Commissions

-J Minnick, Los Angeles Ca, 6 x 6", landscape
-Thomas S., Los Angeles Ca, 30 x 40", 5 canvases, landscape
-Marcin Koz., Gdynia Poland, 2 canvases 40 x 50", 24 x 24", modern art/abstract
-Leslie Ransom, Seattle Wa, 30 x 40", "Bringers Of Light"
-Richard Dietzel, 4 canvases, 12 x 48", landscape
-Preston Pickrell, Murfreesboro Tn, 4 canvases, landscape
-M. Middlesworth, Bellevue Wa, 24 x 36" landscape
-Katherine Lindahn, Sunnyvale Ca, dog portrait
-Cezary Zelaznicki, Warszawa, Poland, 2 canvases, 30 x 40" landscape
-Rick Lindemann, Portland Or, 7 canvases, 12 x 48", 24 x 36", landscape
-Richard Dumani, Bucharest Romania, 48 x 48", 4 canvases, landscape
-Jennifer Pletcher, Palm Beach Fl, 24 x 24"
-Caren Batzer, West Hempstead Ny. 24 x 36", landscape
-Marissa Gandelman, Washington DC, 2 canvases 24 x 24" landscape
-Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles Ca, 144 x 48", 4 canvases, abstract
-Samantha Osburn, Portland Or, 11 x 9ft large mural, after a Monet painting
-Ronni Allsopp, Wilmington De, 24 x 48", landscape
-Gary Brentano, Portland Or, 54 x 54", zebra painting
-Cecily Becker, Portland Or.
-Ronni Theresa Caromano,
-Mel Scott, Edmond Ok.

copyright 2010 JRHarris www.joelharrisstudio.com