"Faces fascinate me. I am especially drawn to the qualities that make an individual unique--the kind of beauty that you cannot invent. In particular, I look for nurturing personalities. Once I'm captivated by how a person carries themselves or how a child gestures, I am driven to meet the challenge of not only capturing a likeness on canvas but more importantly, breathing life into that likeness."
—Johanna Harmon
Johanna Harmon has been a student of life since her childhood in Arizona. To express her feelings about what she saw back then, she started drawing at age 7. Observations and emotions continue to be at the core of her paintings. Not only does she document the world around her, she also expresses her personal response to the glory of creation, whether exemplified by a dancer's discipline and grace or by a little girls indulgence in the colors and fragrances of a secret garden.
Bringing to life a multi-dimensional person on a two-dimensional canvas requires mastery of the formal aspects of art. Harmon's skills are both accurate and beautiful. Drawing has always been her passion, and for the past decade, she has succeeded in turning the power of color, light and shadow into effective tools that animate the stories on her canvas. Her sophisticated brushwork adds movement and energy to the surfaces of her paintings, especially the luscious, impastoed passages of oil pigments that contrast against thinner, more subtle applications.
As much as Harmon paints for the public, she also admits that for her, painting is a path of self-discovery. "To paint is to honor who I am, one brushstroke at a time," she says. Although she works very methodically, at some point, Harmon lets intuition reign. When that happens, she is at one with the canvas, which takes over, bringing the painter to the role of the observer once again.
In viewing Harmon's paintings, one senses the reverence and compassion that first drew Harmon to the person. Her paintings record unique and individual moments in life, those fleeting seconds that add up to the magnificent, complex symphony we call life.—Susan Hallsten McGarry
Johanna Harmon
b. 1968, Milwaukee,Wisconsin
Raised in Tempe, Arizona and currently living outside Denver, Colorado with her husband
Education
Art Students League, Denver, CO. Workshops, 2001 - Current
Fechin Art Institute, Taos, NM. Workshops, 1999 - Current
Scottsdale Artists' School, Scottsdale, AZ. Workshops and Classes, 1995 - Current
Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ. Life drawing classes, 1987 - 1995
Dobson High School, Mesa, AZ. Advanced Placement Art, 1983 - 1986
Publications & Podcasts
A Win-Win Situation, Sampling of OPA Award Winners by Devon Jackson, Southwest Art, August 2008
Collector’s
Choice Figure by Norman Kolpas, Southwest Art, October 2007
McLarry Fine Art World Premiere "Virtual Gallery" Podcast Hosted by Southwest Art Magazine, January 2006
Capturing the Human Spirit by Dr. Lew Deitch, Artbook of the New West, Fall/Winter 2005-06
Getting Personal by Gussie Fauntleroy, Southwest Art, Nov. 2004
Unveiling the Inner Soul by Susan Hallsten McGarry, Focus Santa Fe, June/July 2004
Exhibitions
One Person Show "Introspective", McLarry Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM. June 2008
17th Annual Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Missoula, MT. May 2008
Beaux Arts '08, Scottsdale Artists' School Annual Auction. Scottsdale, AZ. April 2008
Newbury Fine Arts Annual Figurative Exhibition, Boston, MA. February 2008
le Bal de Corsaire, Donation for Colorado Ballet Auction, Denver, CO. January 2008
Great American Figurative Artists Exhibition, Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA. November 2007
16th Annual Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Fredericksburg, TX. May 2007
Newbury Fine Arts Annual Figurative Exhibition, Boston, MA. April 2007
One Person Show "Beauty Refined", McLarry Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM. September 2006
15th Annual Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Missoula, MT. May 2006
Solo Exhibition of New Work, Lynne Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ. May 2006
Beaux Arts '06, Scottsdale Artists' School Annual Auction. Scottsdale, AZ. April 2006
14th Annual Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Chicago, IL. May, 2005
16th Annual PEBC Art Auction and Exhibition, Colorado History Museum, Denver, CO. Oct., 2004
Salon International 2004, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX. May, 2004
Three Person Show, Meyer Gallery, Park City, UT. March, 2004
Miniature Show, Deloney Newkirk, Santa Fe, NM. Nov., 2003
Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Taos, NM. May, 2003
18th Annual Best and the Brightest Show, Scottsdale Artists' School, Scottsdale, AZ. Feb., 2003
Miniature Show, Deloney Newkirk, Santa Fe, NM. Nov., 2002
Fall All Gallery, Merrill Johnson Gallery of Fine Art, Denver, CO. Oct., 2002 - Live demo with model at opening
Three New Artists, Merrill Johnson Gallery of Fine Art, Denver, CO. Jan., 2002
Oil Painters of America West/NW Mountain Regional Juried Exhibition, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT. 2001
16th Annual Best and the Brightest Show, Scottsdale Artists' School, Scottsdale, AZ. Feb., 2001
15th Annual Best and the Brightest Show, Scottsdale Artists' School, Scottsdale, AZ. Feb., 2000 - Image of painting on cover of Arizona Trends, March 2000
Awards
Hunter Editions Award of Excellence. OPA National Juried Exhibition, 2008
Finalist in the Portrait & Figure category of The Artist's Magazine 24th Annual Art Competition, 2007.
Best of Show -American National Award of Excellence. OPA National Juried Exhibition, 2007
Top One Hundred finalist, Art Renewal Center's International ARC Salon, 2006.
Jack Richeson & CO. Award of Excellence. OPA National Juried Exhibition, 2006
PleinAir Magazine Award of Excellence. OPA National Juried Exhibition, 2005
Finalist winner in the Portrait & Figure category. The Artist's magazine 21st Annual Art Competition, 2004.
William Schneider OPA Award of Excellence. OPA Nat'l Juried Exhibition, 2003.
2nd Place Professional. Scottsdale Artist's School, Best and the Brightest Show, 2003.
Best of Show. Scottsdale Artist's School, Best and the Brightest Show, 2001.