







A Winner Has Been Selected
for 2010!

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“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
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