Floral Reflections SOLD

Floral Reflections 30x40 Sold.

 This fresh liquid field of blue watery splashes of cool color, surrounded by warm yellows, oranges and reds that reside in this composition of feminine movements comprised of sensual swirls, circles and arcs. What one would imagine if flowers live under a surface of H2O. Almost totally free of masculine hard edges, straight lines or right angles. This canvas found a home with a notable collector in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Early Digital Computage

Harkrader bought his first version of Adobe Photoshop in 1994 after purchasing his first computer to participate online with the now historic Blacksburg Electronic Village. The BEV was touted as the worlds first electronic village and was a collaboration between Virginia Tech, Town of Blacksburg and Bell Atlantic. He used Netscape to browse for the first time and Photoshop to create his first digital art. The image above was compulation of photographing an early Harkrader painting, photographing his wife's automobile, using Photoshop tools to paint, blend, merge and layer the digital collage into one single unit of blended art.

Salon Night

Harkrader gave a studio tour today to guest, German. Fibers were preset onto the unfinished-untitled abstract floral canvas now in progress.

Tonight is Salon Night, hosted by writer, artist and cultural critic - Suzi Gablik. Gablik, who has written several books, received a B.A. from Hunter College where she studied with Robert Motherwell and worked briefly at Black Mountain College in the early ‘50s. A devotee of John Cage and friends with Greenwich Village artists Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, Gablik moved permanently to Blacksburg, Virginia (‘Black Virgin’) in the early ‘90s.

Harkrader and those salonistas from the Roanoke Valley region have the benefit of driving to and fro Deer Run via the lovely Catawba and Ellett Valley. Salonistas’ respectfully tackle hot-topic issues like war, religion, environment, politics, movies, art, life, peace, future, history, etc. Open-minded discussion and debate come to life from participating writers, artists, educators, students, philosophizers, psychologists, scientist, collectors, curators, and guests. A one hour social of drink and potluck precede the two hour dialogue and deliberation.