Reign of Today | 69 x 46 | ink, oil & acrylic on canvas | by Brooke Harker | SOLD
original painting by Brooke Harker available at Lu Martin Galleries in Laguna Beach, CA While working on this painting, I noted: “Today I felt more like having fun than being perfect.” This painting marked a significant change in the way I approached painting. The transformation began during my residency in Italy and when I returned to LA. I felt confused. I thought of a story I’d heard of slaves who wandered in the desert for forty years after captivity so that their children would not associate themselves as slaves. Although several months overseas as an artist is quite...
Read MoreGolden Gate Shores | 42 x 72 | ink, oil & acrylic on canvas | by Brooke Harker | SOLD
original painting by Brooke Harker sold at Edward Montgomery Fine Art in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA. Inspired by a photograph taken by Ross Smillie. The Golden Gate Bridge has been a symbol of gratitude to me since I first saw it on my 30th birthday. Anyone who has spent time with me on a birthday knows that I like to play games in celebration of however many years a person turns. This tradition started in an intense karate class during my college years. As I’d grown up in a back brace for scoliosis and had a spinal fusion at thirteen, I always had an excuse out of gym class and any physical...
Read MoreLove of the Voyage | 46 x 68 |ink, oil & acrylic on canvas | by Brooke Harker
original painting by Brooke Harker. During a visit to Sicily with my sister, I wandered away from the streets of Trapani on a windy summer day. I felt called near the sea where I found a collection of boats tied beneath the harbor wall. My heart leapt to discover the treasure of this view. I couldn’t stop smiling. I had envisioned painting boats for years. I climbed onto the jetty as a mist of sea jumped to greet me. I probably took over a hundred photos from this view and then sat in joy for quite some time. In the midst of creating this piece, I processed what it felt like to...
Read MoreStory of “A Vicenza Lifetime”
A Vicenza Lifetime is the first painting finished of Italy since my return from the 2015 residency on a farm south of Rome. This painting is inspired by two people whose selflessness touched my heart and supported me in the creation of one of the biggest adventures of my life so far. Here is a bit of our story: The opportunity to paint in Italy came at a time when I craved a change of scenery more than I wanted certainty in surroundings. I said yes to living on the remote farm of the curator Alfio Borghese without knowing how much of the details or logistics would work out to create...
Read MoreUrban Rain | 84″ x 66″ x 3.75″ | ink & acrylic on canvas | by Brooke Harker | SOLD
original painting by Brooke Harker, 2012. “Urban Rain” is part of a series of 4 paintings made in 2012 that were 7ft tall. I had no idea how much arm strength I would build from hauling them around. I discovered that in order to photograph them in proper sunlight, I had to tie them to street signs across the street from my studio and then go back to my side of the street to take the photo. 3 out of the 4 paintings were made from live sketches…The sun had dropped too much for me to finish the fourth sketch downtown–(I explain why under the Persching Square piece) so I...
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