Brennan Harris
Brennan Harris lives and works in Orange County, CA. He has shown his work in galleries all over Southern California, and his paintings and prints are in domestic and international private collections.
At a young age, Harris was formally diagnosed with significant dyslexia. However, he found strength in organizing picture planes with shapes and colors through the medium of paint. Where written words failed him, making art brought him success. Health and fitness are also an intrinsic part of his world and play a role in the formal qualities and content of his artwork. Discipline in the gym relates to discipline in the studio, which manifests itself aesthetically into meticulously crafted paintings that celebrate the beauty of the physical world.
He earned his AA in Studio Art in 2017 from Golden West College. California State University Long Beach is where he earned his BA in Studio Art, focusing on drawing and painting, in 2019.
This body of work is the culmination of years of study and development. He is an emerging artist with ambitions to take his designs and concepts to various media and art markets.
Artist Statement
I have found resonance with several of the philosophies of Classical Greece and Rome. Their ideals and aesthetics have influenced the concepts behind my work, the meticulous way that I execute it, and how it looks. In my personal life and in my paintings, I strive to embody their values of arete and ergon; in other words, attempting to maximize my potential through good hard work. Each painting is created with the utmost care and attention to craftsmanship. This body of work aims to celebrate the refinement they achieved in their sculptures with a contemporary aesthetic that is vibrant and abstract. I search for physical beauty through rational observation of form from both ancient and more recent sculptures that follow the Classical standards. Building a bridge through time in paint with invigorating color. The balance of rhythmic non-objective shapes with the eternal stoic beauty of the cold marble figures is endlessly interesting to me. It is, in a way, my attempt to breathe new life into and offer a contemporary context for an ancient beauty and virtuous principles.
https://brennanmajorharris.com/
How have the philosophies of Classical Greece and Rome shaped your artistic vision?
I strive to embody the Aristotelian values of arete and ergon; in other words, attempting to maximize my potential through good, hard work. Each painting is created with the utmost care and attention to strong design and craftsmanship. Physical beauty was of great importance in the Classical world, and it's important to me too. I also resonate with the Marcus Aurelius quote, “What doesn't transmit light creates its own darkness,” so I strive to bring more beauty into this world through my paintings.
Can you walk us through your creative process and how you bring a painting to life?
Step by step:
Select a subject that connects with me.
Evaluate what sections of the image can be altered without negatively impacting the subject or figure out if the subject needs to be placed into an environment instead.
Gather images of flowers or natural items that would offset the coldness of the statue.
Create a digital collage in Photoshop with all the reference materials. This takes a while, as it is where most of the design work occurs. I play with various color harmonies and scale and space options.
When I have a design finalized, I transfer the image to the support via a poster study, grid, or projector depending on what works best for the size.
After being transferred, I clean up the transfer with a graphite pencil (.03) and make alterations to the design.
Tone the canvas with a very neutral gray or brown at a medium value.
Use the color I premixed for the image and start rendering. I typically paint a section at a time until the image is blocked in.
Lastly, add the fine details and call it done. I like to live with the piece for a while to make sure the final product is what I want.
How do you blend the elegance of classical art with vibrant, modern elements in your work?
This is an intuitive process for me. I spend some time viewing the subject and finding out "what it wants" from me. I don't see the Classical and Classical-inspired subjects I use as being that disparate from contemporary design aesthetics. We certainly have modern pigments that they didn't have, but beauty is eternal and can cross the boundaries of centuries. Human emotions, our desires, and our struggles are fundamentally the same now as they were then. I just add to the stories that have been told for millennia with what comes naturally to me as a person of the 21st century. The juxtaposition of ancient and modern is exciting yet very compatible in my mind.
How has living with dyslexia influenced your artistic journey and the themes you explore?
Honestly, it is the reason I got into art. I failed out of college twice due to poor grades, and when I returned for the final time, I realized how much I connected to art and was able to thrive in that environment. Words failed me, but shapes, values, and colors did not. Now my relationship with dyslexia is more positive. I'd still rather be able to read normally, but it motivates me to continue growing so that one day I can be a constructive example to others. I'd like to encourage others with dyslexia or any other neurodivergent person (especially young people) to see that they are not unworthy just because they don't excel at what "normal" society deems important. As far as the themes go, the Classical statues I paint inspire me to continue working hard. Dyslexia was a real struggle for me. I had no choice but to work twice as hard in school to succeed. That cultivated my current work ethic, which aligns with Classical values. That's a silver lining, I suppose. I am also interested in pursuing beauty within my work that does not fit traditional beauty standards. Where can I find aesthetic pleasure in the distorted or divergent?
In what ways does your commitment to fitness and health reflect in your art?
Fitness arrived in my life long before art did, and I learned lessons from that journey that I could apply to my artistic practice as well.
I enjoy working hard! I believe I have a labor-intensive process and a commitment to excellence when it comes to my art. My fitness journey helped with this because I have truly learned over the years that I value a solid work ethic and overcoming obstacles. Pushing my limits both physically and artistically are the only things that have shown me success.
Setting up a structure or rules for myself to follow so I don't get injured, but also being flexible enough to make progress and grow. In my art, this translates to limiting subjects, style, and content options initially, which allows me to create quickly and then make adjustments along the way to obtain the best results I can. Basically, I follow my own rules and make strategic little breaks with them as I go.
Building a strong physique takes time! Making a good body of work takes time. Trying to rush to a specific goal too quickly will probably end in a poor result, so I take my time and make sure I do what I need to do to get the desired outcome. It is often good to take the long path; there is more to enjoy if you are looking for it.
I will make mistakes, so I just try to go with them and don’t beat myself up too much.
How has your artistic style and focus evolved since your time in college?
My style has almost completely flip-flopped from my early work. My technique went from working with very opaque, flat acrylic paints to using mostly thin, transparent layers of oil. My focus has also changed from just making work to quickly get a good grade, to actually making art. I don't think completing assignments for classes is comparable to a professional art practice like I have now. In college, I was just learning the mediums, how to design, how to develop content, and anxiously searching for my style. Now I do those things more fluidly after years of trial and error. I feel more settled in my style and methods. I am far more focused on making work that is important to me, work that represents my values and goals.
What dreams and aspirations do you have for your future as an emerging artist?
As I mentioned earlier, I hope to have a career notable enough to be inspiring to others, especially those who grew up with any kind of disability. I'd love to do collaborations with creators that I admire and be represented by galleries I respect. Seeing financial success from my art career would allow me the freedom to pursue other adventures in life. Lastly, I'd like to contribute something of beauty to the world that is bigger than myself, to create artwork that lifts people up in some way when engaging with it.
