ARTIST BIO
Inspired by Post-Impressionism and Fauvism, Sara Harris uses color to construct compositions and reveal her personal spiritual connection to the natural world.  Raised in Washington, D.C., Harris’s love for art began early. 
At five years of age, she was accepted at the Corcoran Museum School, Washington, D.C. and studied there for ten years.  She won many awards at Corcoran and values her academic artistic training.

Harris moved to New York City to continue her education at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, as well as the Art Students League in Manhattan. Later, Harris worked as an illustrator and graphic designer at various New York art studios, such as Ruffins/Taback, Inc. and Wells, Rich & Greene, Inc.

Harris ultimately settled in the Hudson River Valley, which provides her with the light, beauty and serenity that she needs to create her artistic vision.  Trees, nature, dreams, color, energy and spirit are all explored through paint and pastel.  The use of unusual color combinations, the immediacy of the brush stroke and the emotion that color reveals are all reflected in Harris¹s style.

Harris has had a number of solo and group gallery exhibitions, primarily in the Northeast.  Her work is in many private and business collections. She is a member of the New York Society of Women Artists and the Arts Society of Kingston, New York.

ARTIST STATEMENT
I must paint - it is my work and my pleasure.  Painting for me is challenging, centering, exhilarating, frustrating and joyous…it is all encompassing.
I live in the country, close to nature. My surroundings initially stimulate and inform my imagination...the light, color, spirit and the energy of a moment. I re-imagine the natural world with hues more vivid and forms perhaps more fluid than nature’s own.
I paint entirely in my small, cozy studio. Sometimes I tone the canvas; other times I prefer the bright white of the primed canvas. I rarely make preliminary sketches. I might have an intention or an image in mind or I may just start putting colors down until something appears. Because of my fascination with the relationship between colors, I do a lot of layering and scraping of paint, staying alert for interesting harmonies. Color affects me deeply – as Henri Matisse said, “Colour was not given to us in order that we should imitate nature. It was given to us so that we can express our emotions." By selection, by elimination and by emphasis, I express my inner self through my art.