Harris is a painter that likes to experiment with different materials, styles and techniques. His main material is acrylic, in combination with watercolor, gouache, soft and oil pastel, oil, woods, or whatever his creativity will imagine.
He used to say that he had no specific style, however you can identify his style in many different paintings.
The themes of his paintings or drawings show situations in life, experiences, fantasy worlds, imaginary revolutions and ideas about life, and humanity.
He studied in young age, for 6 years in private art schools in Greece, and now he continues his studies in Strykejernet art school in Norway, mostly in sculpturing and ink prints techniques. Harris paintings are walking the path of expressionism, neoexpressionism with abstract, impressionistic and figurative influences.
Until now he have done four solo and group exhibitions in Greece, and eight in Oslo. He is a very active painter and he works around six hours a day.
“God takes his creatures in his hug” | Medium | 63x52cm “Memory Bound” | Mixed media, Acrylic and crayons on paper | 70×100 “He had the moon in his mind” | Mixed media, acrylic and markers on paper | 70x100cm “I won’t do my lessons” | Mixed media, acrylic and crayons on paper | 70x100cm
My pictures are thoughts on different subjects, sometimes surreal. As a rule, my pictures are thoughts of the mind and emotions, sometimes only emotions.
Contemporary Times . Mystery Travel . #28 | Pastel on paper | 30×20 cm Contemporary Times . Mystery Travel . #4 | Pastel on paper | 30×20 cm Contemporary Times . Mystery Travel . #5 | Pastel on paper | 30×20 cm Contemporary Times . Mystery Travel . #15 | Pastel on paper | 30×20 cm
Finally!!! … Outsider Art Magazine Issue Three is now available for free downloads and not free print purchases.
Congratulations to Bill Skrips whose art has landed on the cover of issue three.
Thank you to every artist who submitted their art and to those who made the cut for issue three, We are now accepting free art submissions for issue four.
Cover Art | The Sylph | Mixed Media | 21″ x 15″ 8″
I am inspired by accidental arrangements, pareidolia and dreams . These effects produce a quality of consciousness that makes art a magical journey for me. Much of my work is automatic , it happens while I do it. I enjoy this process of discovering a narrative. When I’m not painting, I’m busy making hand made jewelry.
I am inspired by accidental arrangements, pareidolia and dreams . These effects produce a quality of consciousness that makes art a magical journey for me. Much of my work is automatic , it happens while I do it. I enjoy this process of discovering a narrative. When I’m not painting, I’m busy making hand made jewelry.
The Pools of Cryptomnesia (or the stars journey through Pisces to Aquarius) | Acrylic | 24inx30in The lost i is in the spool of the cocoon | Acrylic on canvas, collage | 9inx12in Contagion of fear | Oil on canvas. collage | 9inx12in Green Man | Mixed Media | 20inx20in
My own work is deeply steeped in the European classical tradition, drawing much more inspiration in terms of form, lighting, composition, and atmosphere from the Renaissance and Baroque era than it draws from any contemporary art movement. It is completely figurative, with no abstraction, though with human figures that are slightly caricatured. My individual voice as an artist is opting for a more “conservative backlash” against the contemporary art scene and separates itself from the more sleek, stylized, graphic design look of contemporary artists. The figures lack the mass amounts of chiseled detail that are hallmarks of European Renaissance painting and sculpture, but instead exist as smooth, rubbery figures sitting in a Baroque inspired environment.
My own work is deeply steeped in the European classical tradition, drawing much more inspiration in terms of form, lighting, composition, and atmosphere from the Renaissance and Baroque era than it draws from any contemporary art movement. It is completely figurative, with no abstraction, though with human figures that are slightly caricatured. My individual voice as an artist is opting for a more “conservative backlash” against the contemporary art scene and separates itself from the more sleek, stylized, graphic design look of contemporary artists. The figures lack the mass amounts of chiseled detail that are hallmarks of European Renaissance painting and sculpture, but instead exist as smooth, rubbery figures sitting in a Baroque inspired environment.
“Time of Day (Girl in a Plaid Shirt)” | Oil on Canvas | 30×24 inches “A Seated Couple” | Acrylic on Canvas | 18×24 inches “Woman on a Staircase” | Oil on Canvas | 30×24 inches “Man in a Striped Shirt” | Acrylic and Oil on Canvas | 20×16 inches
”I was born in s’Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands in 1954. I have been a lifelong doodler.My work is influenced by children’s toy’s, folk and indigenous art forms. I am an amateur painter and maker of things. But I spend most of my time doing this and I will continue as long as there are new things to discover….I like my works to be joyous, colorful with a kinetic feel. I’ll work with and on anything available, including old wood, cardboard and all kinds of wonderful junk,” writes John van Orsouw.
”I was born in s’Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands in 1954. I have been a lifelong doodler.My work is influenced by children’s toy’s, folk and indigenous art forms. I am an amateur painter and maker of things. But I spend most of my time doing this and I will continue as long as there are new things to discover….I like my works to be joyous, colorful with a kinetic feel. I’ll work with and on anything available, including old wood, cardboard and all kinds of wonderful junk,” writes John van Orsouw.
John meets all the requirements to be himself.
He is completely self-taught which is not to say that he is not schooled. His schooling,however,has been the museums, the ideas, the movies and the streets of urban life both in the U.S. (New Orleans, New York City) and in Europe including his childhood home in Holland. Presently he is selling his work in New York City. His recent exhibitions include the Outsider Art Fair in New York and Paris, The 6th annual Outsider Art Exhibition at Galerie Belage in West Hampton Beach, New York , Musee de la Creation France and van der Plas gallery in New York City.
John’s paintings are part child, part expressionistic brut, part music and part CoBrA. He is Dubuffet filtered through Rembrandt and Bosch via Karel Appel. He is, in the composite, pure John van Orsouw, a free spirit inspired by daily life, its sounds, its smells, its colors, its culture and its language. Spontaneity is his medium, like the jazz he celebrates in his work.
His work is playful – a carnival of bright, primary-colored toys which he then, like a magician, swirls through scribbles of motion and ends with a figure, an animal or a musical instrument. He plays with the idea that art is a toy and works the shapes into shape and superimposes, imposes and just plain poses these shapes within the spontaneous, organic and sometimes conscious scribbles, squiggles and doodles. it looks like John is having fun. And that’s the way he wants it to look.
When he is working, John is in the center ring of a 3-ring circus. He is the ringmaster for the clowns, cartoons, the blues, jazz and colorful men and women. Wild-eyed dogs, cats and birds roam freely through his field of vision. As ringmaster he snaps his whip and whips his performers into recognizable shapes but in the end they all have a life of their own. His work, like the playful circus of his imagination, has been created for children of all ages!
Phil Demise Smith, New York.
PARADISE LOST Mixed media painting on canvas 48”x 48” RED HOT Mixed media painting on canvas 48”x 40” GOODBYE JOE Mixed media painting on canvas 48” x 48” A NIGHT IN LA BOCA Mixed media painting on canvas 50”x 34”
Thank you to all the Artists who submitted their artwork for consideration and congratulations to Jim Kopp for getting his work on the cover of issue two. Tons of great art didn’t make it into this issue, but don’t let that detour you. We are now accepting art submissions for issue three. SUBMIT HERE
Congratulations to all who made it into issue two of Outsider Art Magazine.
Thank you to everyone who participated and submitted your art for consideration. There was some amazing art that didn’t make the cut so please keep submitting for future issues of Outsider Art Magazine. Next call for art will be soon and we will send out an email and post a call for art.
Selected Artists listed in no particular order.
Selected Artists – Issue Two
Congratulations to all who made it into issue two of Outsider Art Magazine.
Thank you to everyone who participated and submitted your art for consideration. There was some amazing art that didn’t make the cut so please keep submitting for future issues of Outsider Art Magazine. Next call for art will be soon and we will send out an email and post a call for art.
Ruby Michelle is an American artist that graduated with her BFA from California State University of Sacramento with a concentration in drawing and painting. Her artwork has a childlike quality that is inspired by fairytales, Asian culture, folklore and children’s literature, while the subject matter is often a reflection of everyday life with a twist of fantasy and surrealism.
“I enjoy drawing human expression and the feelings and bonds we have with nature as well as each other. This series of illustrations called “Blankspace” is a collection of snapshots or moments captured in time and representing both an everyday reality as well as a surreal fantasy. “
Ruby Michelle is an American artist that graduated with her BFA from California State University of Sacramento with a concentration in drawing and painting. Her artwork has a childlike quality that is inspired by fairytales, Asian culture, folklore and children’s literature, while the subject matter is often a reflection of everyday life with a twist of fantasy and surrealism.
“I enjoy drawing human expression and the feelings and bonds we have with nature as well as each other. This series of illustrations called “Blankspace” is a collection of snapshots or moments captured in time and representing both an everyday reality as well as a surreal fantasy. “
Space Station Mixed Media on Paper 8 x 8” Solar Sanctuary Mixed Media on Paper 8 x 8” Sunset Supernova Mixed Media on Paper 8 x 8” Galaxy Diner Mixed Media on Paper 8 x 8”
Amy O’Hearn is a New Orleans, Louisiana artist who works from her home studio. Amy uses a meditative and intuitive approach in her paintings. She thrives on the risk and spontaneity of not having a plan before starting to paint, she simply clears her mind and lets the colors and the brush take her away. Amy finds it very fulfilling when other people interpret her art, noticing things she hadn’t intended. She often names her paintings after the visions others see.
Amy O’Hearn is a New Orleans, Louisiana artist who works from her home studio. Amy uses a meditative and intuitive approach in her paintings. She thrives on the risk and spontaneity of not having a plan before starting to paint, she simply clears her mind and lets the colors and the brush take her away. Amy finds it very fulfilling when other people interpret her art, noticing things she hadn’t intended. She often names her paintings after the visions others see.
Amy has always been interested in art, especially drawing and painting. She enjoyed being in the Art program during high school and continued to draw and paint after her graduation in 1999. Her favorite memory of that time was drawing tattoos for her shipmates when she joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 2000. Then “life happened,” as Amy says, and she veered off her artistic path for a while. Words cannot describe the joy it brings her to be reunited with inspiration.
Artist Statement
Amy O’Hearn’s artwork is the culmination of tiny triumphs and mistakes that make it beautiful. She chooses different colors and adds new layers throughout her creative process; each session inspires the choices for the next. When painting subject matter, Amy likes to incorporate the same intuitive approach. The object is the inspiration and the painting is not limited to the rules of reality.
Amy’s goal is to capture the essence of perfect imperfection and self love that nurtures growth, countering the cultural pressures to change who we are to fit others’ expectations.
Banjo Oil on Wood 18 in X 28 in Cow Skull #1 Acrylic on wood 12 in X 12 in Resolution Acrylic on Wood 12 in X 12 in Believe Acrylic on Wood 12 in X 12 in