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‘’Clouds Rising”, 2015, oil on panel, 24 x 18 inchesThis painting was done in a fit of inspiration. The image was derived from a trip to Target. I held onto the force of the cloud until I got home and put it into the painting.
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“Clouds”, 2017, oil on canvas, 24 x 48 inchesThis ‘Clouds,’ on the other hand, took three years. Confused for an ocean scene or beluga whales... no matter...the painting speaks for itself.
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“The Stones of Life”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 20 x 20 inchesI worked on this painting for several months. It exemplifies my philosophy towards painting and life. The almost crawling nature of the rocks, the lines that wrap around some of the rocks, the scrubby coastal trees, the rounded horizon, and the energy of the water ...it is intended to come alive and explode off the canvas. I see the natural world as alive, filled with energy, and forceful. Each stone has its own character (color/shape). My view of the world has been complimented by my early study of Shintoism. The basic principles of Shintoism is the recognition of invisible spiritual beings and powers called kami.
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“Below the Bluffs, Looking for Tide Pools”, 2016, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesThis painting is a part of my devotion to the ocean and tidal pools. Of course, rocks are included. Each rock having its own character. The reading of Loren Eiseley opened the boundaries of my observation and philosophy on the history of rocks and the life forms that encompass in their past. Tidal pools and ocean are, in themselves, an infinity source of life.
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“Continuous Wave”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesThis painting could be titled Infinity....
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“Corner of the World”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesA friend referred to the coast as the ‘Edge of the World.’ This thought has followed through into my thoughts on the coastline. This painting, also, shows how I have evolved a technique of oil washes and charcoal.
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“Where the Seals Play. Tide In. Tide Out.”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesEach rock is its own character in this play that takes place on the canvas. Each part is filled with energy.
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“Life Wash. Tide In, Tide Out”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesOften my objective is to have the world dissolve. Life goes from the world we can see to the world that has crawled out of view to the microscopic and then...where? To the layers of energy, indescribable? To the universe? I want the painting to ‘fall apart.’ Here, the rocks are rocks but their planes are detaching from each other. The horizon begins to look like another planet. The horizon seems rounded. The rock in the foreground is the most tangible object and even it is other worldly. Its colors from minerals and algae.
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“Look at All Those Rocks”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 20 x 16 inchesHumor in the title, but a serious study of geological formations.
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“Tide In, Tide Out, Moon Pull”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesTidal pools. Land masses. Water washing in. Water washing out. According to the moon. Life forms beyond our comprehension.
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“Tide In. Tide Out”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesPerhaps, my tidal paintings could be an existentialist view and respect for life. The scene here is washing away. All of the layers are dripping off the canvas.
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“Lines That Hold”, 2016, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesOnly the outer edge hold the inner force, the history, the minerals. I am questioning foundations. Foundation of the earth that our culture takes for granted as permanent and indestructible. But, is it?
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“Driving the Cascades”, 2017, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inchesMy study of Chinese and Japanese painting comes into full play in this painting. This is my contemporary nod to the painters and poets of the Sung Dynasty. In the Chinese landscape paintings of the Sung period. The lone human is often seen on a donkey or on foot going up an enormous mountain. It is in recognition of the small part the human is in the greater whole. All parts are part of the whole. All parts work together for the greater whole.
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“Mountain of Power”, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 24 x 24 inchesMountains dissolving. Masses becoming transparent. Looking beyond the eye/mind trained to be in a box, trained to be irreverent to our natural world.
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“Origin of Life”, 2016, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesThis painting and the following were painted with Loren Eiseley in mind. The water and layers of life are being pulled back to reveal more layers of life
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“Where the Seals are Birthed”, 2018, oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 inchesMy early works were influenced greatly by the Surrealists and the Chicago Surrealists where I was living at the time.
Hart James studied at Northwestern University, Art Institute of Chicago and the San Francisco Art Institute. She has done numerous residencies in the United States. Her work has been shown in both solo and group exhibits as well as Invitationals.
Hart writes, “My work speaks of the energy of nature around us; the current of the water, the flow of the air, the rock formations that form the foundation under our feet and the movement of those foundations. The natural world is very simply alive. It is nothing to be taken for granted. It is as much a part of us, as our circulatory system.”