I Can Relate
A couple of months ago I was running business errands and went for what I thought would be a routine visit to my framer.
(SCREETCH!!!!!!!!) I'm going to go on a tangent for a second. My framers are Vintage ATL. They are a husband, wife duo named J.P and Gina who have a shop out of their home and they are FANTASTIC. They have the best personal style and she is an artist which is SUPER helpful in picking out frames. She has put frames on my paintings that I would have never picked out but love so much. They are kind and do a really good job. .
Back on track. I went this day for routine framing and a large art piece caught my eye. As another side note: Brent and I havent been married long and our marriage has combined very different tastes and styles in decorating. I blended my 1946 charming cottage style with his 2015 Modern High Rise Midtown style. Im certain that you can see this is a delicate decorating dilemma.
ANnnnd back on track. At Vintage ATL, that routine ordinary day, a painting caught my eye. It was a large abstract, contemporary piece on wood. It was hued with browns and golds and hints of teal blue on a stained wood panel. Immediately I walked over and asked about it, admiring it. Surprisingly JP said that it was his... and for sale! Why? Well because he too had married and their houses combined and their styles grown together and with all of the changes no matter how wonderful the art, sometimes the space just evolves and some things have to change. JP went on to tell me that this was a Phil Harris painting. I immediately objected. You see, Phill Harris is kinda of a big deal local artist here. I KNOW his work. I have seen his openings. I have followed him on instagram. I have seen his murals in the city. I have marveled at his soft back ground layers and his big use of color and his geometric pristine curves and lines all perfectly displayed on a plexiglass canvas. And. Well. This just wasn't a Phil Harris painting. Not that it wasn't great. Remember, how it caught my eye? but it was on wood, it was warm, there was an absolute lack of color. Yes there were lines, yes there were curves, but it didn't look like what I know as a Phil Harris Painting.
JP acknowledged all of that that and then explained... that the piece I was looking at was one of his very early paintings and like many early pieces from artists (deriving from insecurities, im sure) it wasn't even signed.
I asked him to hold the painting. I would let him know If It would work in our space and then I went home and did recon. Research, as it were, by means of Instagram. BEHOLD, right there on Phil Harris' feed are images from November 2014 of progress shots of that painting. Well, 'Ill be damned.
All of this caused me to look harder at Phil Harris' feed. Stalking him in the not so creepy way. Instagram is a pictorial time line of evolution for an artist... even the ones who are making it big. You see the painting I saw didn't look like a "Phil Harris" because in 2014, Phil Harris was evolving to into the artist that we see today. He may not have even had a sense of his own style back then. Maybe if you asked him now, he still doesn't? I dont know. In 2014, from an outsider (stalker)s perspective, He was definitely experimenting and growing.
So what happened? Well, I showed the painting to my husband who loved it and we purchased the painting with the condition that Mr Harris would have to sign it, to which he did. I had to change the living room some to match it, but I LOVE our new art piece. I love that I had a "love at first sight" moment when I saw it. I love that it it combines both of my husbands and my styles. I love that it fits perfectly in our space. I love that it is from a local and well known artist. And I really do consider it an investment.
I also love it because I can relate to it. I may never know what it is like to sell a painting for $1200. But I certainly can relate to how it feels to be an artist trying to figure out my style, trying things, evolving and refining. Who knows what my art will look like in 4 years! Exciting, right?
Below (above the sofa) Artwork by Phil Harris
