Richard Harrington
Artist's Statement- Richard C. Harrington
In a culture that increasingly separates us from the natural world, my interest is in how we relate to it, how it lives in our minds and memories, and how it can provide us with a sense of belonging, connection, and home.
Since I was young, I have been more comfortable outside than in. A lifelong interest in outdoor activities - canoeing, kayaking, fly fishing, hiking, skiing - has left me with a mental catalog of memories, of moments in time in many different places.
I have often wondered why these mental landscapes remain with me so strongly. I have come to think that these images may be vestigial links to a primitive ability to navigate the world—a skill that was necessary before we had maps, compasses and GPS systems to guide us. It is my belief that the memory of landscape is integral to human travel and the sensory perception of “home.” It is these memories I try to capture in my paintings; the shapes, contours, rhythms and colors that provide us all with a sense of place, a sense of home and away.
The barn paintings have evolved out of the memories of childhood visits to the ranches of my aunts and uncles in eastern Oregon. In a body of work paralleling the evolution of my landscapes, the barn images are memories of barns I have seen, a contemporary representation of a traditional subject, recalling the history of the interaction of the people with the land they work and live with.
I paint in my studio with oil on canvas or panels based on brief sketches done on location. I aim for a balance between abstraction and representation that leaves the viewer feeling as if they are looking at a memory of a time and place—and leaves them feeling a bit more connected to the natural world.
In a culture that increasingly separates us from the natural world, my interest is in how we relate to it, how it lives in our minds and memories, and how it can provide us with a sense of belonging, connection, and home.
Since I was young, I have been more comfortable outside than in. A lifelong interest in outdoor activities - canoeing, kayaking, fly fishing, hiking, skiing - has left me with a mental catalog of memories, of moments in time in many different places.
I have often wondered why these mental landscapes remain with me so strongly. I have come to think that these images may be vestigial links to a primitive ability to navigate the world—a skill that was necessary before we had maps, compasses and GPS systems to guide us. It is my belief that the memory of landscape is integral to human travel and the sensory perception of “home.” It is these memories I try to capture in my paintings; the shapes, contours, rhythms and colors that provide us all with a sense of place, a sense of home and away.
The barn paintings have evolved out of the memories of childhood visits to the ranches of my aunts and uncles in eastern Oregon. In a body of work paralleling the evolution of my landscapes, the barn images are memories of barns I have seen, a contemporary representation of a traditional subject, recalling the history of the interaction of the people with the land they work and live with.
I paint in my studio with oil on canvas or panels based on brief sketches done on location. I aim for a balance between abstraction and representation that leaves the viewer feeling as if they are looking at a memory of a time and place—and leaves them feeling a bit more connected to the natural world.
