Heidi @ Eastport

Heidi lives in a late 1800's store front in the seaport

town of Easport, Maine. This historical structure was

once owned by a family who manufactored

and sold candy. The upstairs is one of the

warmest and most pleasant living rooms one

could experience. Heidi and Ellen sit

and chat one September morning 2018. 

New Sculpture In Progress / Detail Floral

Check back for the title of this small floral sculpture in progress. Harkrader's sculpture is, at times, created in parallel to the paintings on canvas. For example, the floral abstracts series may be in two dimensional canvas and 3D sculpture.

Acqua di Fiori Essenziale To Finish Soon

Acqua di Fiori Essenziale         60x48 mixed                           2010

(Essential Water Flower).  An incredibly sophisticated painting of mixed medias including copper, fibers, photo collage, sycamore leaves, wallpaper, Swarovski crystal, and Budapest currency. This painting of abstract botanical afloat and awash in pools and drops of light blue colors. Sycamore leaves launch up the left side of canvas, one floating above a soft plaid wall paper laced in copper, and another leaf shape of textured paper laced with black fiber. A Budapest currency, 200 Forint banknote resides mid-canvas. Orange and lavender botanical shapes seemingly floating above and below the two dimensional plane of canvas. Multiple lucid layers of multi-media and attachments give the entire canvas a three dimensional sensation. More fibers wander around the composition among bold strokes of thick paint; their placement creating gentle movement.

Harkrader

Addio Vento Floreale

Goodbye Vento Floreale! The beauty of your wind blown flowers
will be missed. Thanks to RedSky Gallery you have found a
home (AC). May the path of your wind blown fragrance
and the olfaction of the artist

cross again in some future garden of Mother Nature.

Sarah EK Muse Digital Collage

Harkrader captures, with camera, Sarah EK Muse at her exhibit on Church Street, Roanoke, 2008. Muse specializes in metalwork with motifs of plant life, feminine symbolism and figurative elements. Muse founded SVMAG in 2004 for local metal artisans. Southwestern Virginia Metal Arts Guild provide opportunities for education, creativity and information among its members. Harkrader photographed Muse and her sculptural metalwork for this montage composition. He then superimposed multiple photographs into one digital collage using Photoshop. Three metal sculptured panel provide a visual horizontal path to the primary Muse portrait. The background of zoomed facial features provide depth. Anticipation blooms for the 'Spring Celebration and Kentucky Derby Party' hosted by Muse tomorrow, May 1, 2010. Yea!

Early Harkrader

A collector friend of Harkrader who owns this early (1987) Harkrader oil on canvas and has been in their possession since 1999 ask the artist to store this bizarre painting in his studio due to moving. The artist admitted it was interesting to reacquaint himself with this early work. The artist's vision of 'Children of the Dust' (48x36) became enhanced as he lives with it again in the studio. "To revisit early work can be impressive, distressing and even discouraging, but this painting now seems most important". Harkrader remembers self-modeling for this composition. He lay on the floor in his upstairs studio at 312. Sketches were made in charcoal-pencil on newsprint and are still in his possession. Many canvases can be a struggle, but Harkrader remembers how painless this painting came to life (or death). The indisputable struggle lies within the imagery! "Human kind is either being born, re-born, dying or re-dying", says Harkrader.

Rothko on Steriods

Aaron Gallery at Washington, DC's Dupont Circle host Harkrader exhibit and the artist talks with Washington, DC collectors who purchased the Red Onyx panel above. Canvases in the 'Onyx' series explore language in Rothko compositions. "Rothko on steriods", as one viewer described Harkrader's Onyx paintings. These paintings are heavily textured with thick paint, pumice, lava flake, sand and glass beads; embedded with erotic photo collage, laced with copper wire and in some cases, dissected to the internal and/or host external 3D attachments.

Atelier

Harkrader and El spend a week in 2007 with Italian artist Annina di Oronzo's atelier on via del beato angelico in the historic center of Rome. A meeting site of eclectic minds...and Annina's home, studiovo atelier provides workshop, studio and accommodation for traveling artists. A visual and performance installation artist, Annina's work takes her from Rome to Berlin and elsewhere. Harkrader's guitar and backpack are foreground-left.
http://www.studiovo.net/sensitive.html
http://www.interactv.it/default.asp?content=%2Fchannels%2F3%2F25%2Fstream.asp

Knock knock. Anybody home?