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The
figures in Harrington's paintings are inspired by various aspects
of his life, such as members of his family, friends, and people
he encounters while traveling the world. Although he has completed
numerous portrait studies, the artists prefers to anchor his figures
in specific environments. |
In Music Room, he paints a young boy at a grand
piano; the piano reflects on its dark, lustrous surface an oblong
shape of brilliant white daylight from a garden beyond. The rest
of the room sits in shadows, rich with books, rugs, and furniture.
In The Leopard-Skin Hat, a woman is ensconced in
a comfortable yellow armchair that is perfectly complemented by
her leopard-skin hat. Beyond her we can see into another room awash
in dim daylight. And in Red Table, a girl sits
alone at a dining room table, thoughtful and pensive, while a cigarette
burns in an ashtray and two candles remain unlit on a table draped
with a vivid red tablecloth. A narrative is hinted at in all of
these pictures but remains only a suggestion -- a distant and unsolvable
mystery. This sense of storytelling is increased when the artist
gives his subjects accoutrements that seem to suggest another time
period: a bejeweled headdress, rich robes, or decorative costumes.
Self-absorbed, wistful, or lost in reverie, all are bathed in a
gentle light. No emotional extremes are exhibited, but we still
feel that these people are very mush alive. "God has laid an
incredible banquet of imagery before us, "says Harrington.
"Relaying truths of the beauty found in our world is at the
center of my purpose in painting."