Ed Harris
Harris explains, "When I first read Wordsworth's
words, "The Child is father of the Man," I did not realize how
accurate those words are, but childhood memories of growing up on a farm in Halifax County
in eastern North Carolina
are a great part of what I paint today.
Baskets of corn in corncribs, mule collars and farm scenes have become
the subjects of my paintings. Flowers in
fields and woods, and the flowers my mother and grandmother grew are also
subjects for my work. Today, when I see
cosmos, morning glories, and zinnias, I recall the perfusion of colorful cosmos
behind our smokehouse, morning glories roping through cornfields, and crab
grass in my grandmother's zinnias in late fall.
These images are vivid and very special.
By capturing the colors and intricate designs of flowers and leaves, and
the diverse patterns that time creates in nature, I hope that when people view
my work, they see something in nature they had not noticed previously or recall
a memory long forgotten."
Harris has a BA in English from Atlantic Christian
College (now Barton
College) in Wilson, NC.
He began his career as an English teacher in public schools, and later taught
art at the middle and high school levels. He furthered his education with a
major in Art Education and a Master's Degree in English Education from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. After having
taught for 33 years, he retired in 1999, and taught English part-time at Bladen Community
College until 2006. He now devotes his time to
painting.
His early paintings are all oils and
of a different tone from his current works. In the early 1980's, Harris
switched from the heavier oils to watercolors because of their light, fluid
nature. His botanical and still life paintings are almost photographic in their
realism and detail.
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