Posts tagged:painting

Boat behind the window. 2019

Boat behind the window. 2019. J.Harms. Acrylic on paper. 48x63cm.

I recently (re)-visited Rye in Sussex. At first I thought about painting a couple streetscapes, Tudor style buildings and all, but for some reason my eye was more interested in the decorated windows of the old city. I usually let a couple months go by before revisiting my pictures, but with “B” day coming up, I feel a sense of foreboding in the air. This particular window with the boat, turns out to be more than that. A boat is a strong symbol of freedom, but this one is stuck behind a window…

Posted by julie harms

I illustrate my wanderings, real and imaginary.

House caught in a web. 2018

House caught in a web. 2018. J.Harms. Acrylic on canvas. 38x46cm.

The more I dwell on my “American journey” the more I realise how the paintings resulting from my visit last May in the town of Beloit, where I used to spend summers of my childhood, are turning into little satires, with a whift of symbolism attached to them. I usually like to play along with the titles of my paintings. Many have double meanings, I believe it helps those looking at my art to see all the layers, but I usually stay clear of incorporating politics and morals into my work. I don’t wish to give lessons. However, it seems that the older I get, the more these “questions” seem to want to show up now and then. Sometimes, artists are like barometers of society’s health and well-being. Through their work, one will experience the emotional sounds of the moment. well, there you go. Can one of you spot the spider ?

Posted by julie harms

I illustrate my wanderings, real and imaginary.

Le Grand Salon 2018

I’m happy to announce that I will be exhibiting again at the Grand Salon D’Art Abordable in Paris in the beginning of November. This is the French twist to the affordable Art Fairs of the world. I will be showing some of my new works.

Posted by julie harms

I illustrate my wanderings, real and imaginary.

Attention aux cactus. 2018

Attention aux cactus. 2018. J.Harms. 81×100 cm. Acrylic on canvas.

I was contacted a couple weeks ago by an artist whom I exhibited with last year. She is currently organizing a show in a Parisian gallery and has kindly asked me to participate. The theme for the show is “tropical dream” . Having never been to the Islands, And having absolutely no paintings resembling the theme, I decided to roam the Jardin d’Auteuil in Paris. Those of you that watch the tennis will know that Roland Garros’ courts are right across the street from those extraordinary greenhouses. The main one, resembling a little crystal palace, was closed for maintenance. It held the palm trees which I intended to paint at first. Walking around the gardens to the other smaller greenhouses, I came across the one housing the cacti. Beware of the cacti.

Posted by julie harms

I illustrate my wanderings, real and imaginary.

L’arbre d’or. The 6th continent 12/365. 2018

l'Arbre d'or. The 6th C. J.Harms. 2018

L’arbre d’or. The 6th Continent 12/365.2018. J.Harms. Acrylic on paper. 10x15cm.

Row row the boat gently down the milky lake, our wandered settles on a crumb of an island to rest for the night under the golden tree. There he remains till dawn.

Posted by julie harms

I illustrate my wanderings, real and imaginary.

Au palais d’Iéna. 2018

Au palais d’Iéna. 2018. J.Harms. Acrylic on paper. 40x50cm. (Private collection.)

At the end of March this year, AD magazine hosted a show ( AD matières ) on contemporary interior decorating at the Palais d’Iéna in Paris. It focused mainly on decorative painting, and other wall finishes ( mosaïc, straw, unique wall-papers…). I was curious to see the new trends, and visited the site with some expectation. Since the decorative world is rather small, I quickly realised that almost everyone presented works of a similar palette of colors, warm golden hues, sometimes just plain gold leaf or paint, brushed over, or combed, or mixed with a darker color, so much so, that I painted the place with warm earth tones, simply because that’s how I remember it.

The show in itself was not very inspiring. However, the location was. The place has a bahausian flair to it.  Coincidentally,  I am half-way through Nicholas Fox Weber’s book “the Bahaus group”.  I wonder if that had some influence on the choice of the subject and the way with which I painted it.

Posted by julie harms

I illustrate my wanderings, real and imaginary.

Yearly self-portrait with noren. 2018

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Yearly self-portrait with noren. 2018. J. Harms. 29x39cm. Acrylic on red paper.

This year’s portrait was more difficult to paint than the previous years. I painted and discarded several before finally painting this one. Ten years ago, almost to the day, I left France to go to Japan, where I lived and worked for a year and a half.

It was a tough yet rewarding and meaningful experience. It was there that I found my artistic language among the many colors and lines of the cityscape of Nagasaki.

While living there, I got to witness traditional holidays, and seasonal events. I also visited craft shops, I began collecting art too, and sent home many things, like this noren, a detail of which I painted in the background. It now hangs in my bedroom.

Posted by julie harms

I illustrate my wanderings, real and imaginary.
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