3 New Paintings! Bring the Sunshine Inside!
painting Umbrella Party & Umbrella Story
Umbrella Party:
Umbrella Party by Brooke Harker 60″ x 90″ x 2.5″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas
Click Here for availability and close ups bigger
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This painting was recently delivered to Lu Martin Galleries! If the coast calls to you and you’d like to see it in person! Or if you want to try it out on your wall–be in contact with Greg or Lu at the gallery.
Heisler Park – one of the beaches across the street from the gallery…if you aren’t drawn to a bustling crowd…there are so many places to charge your soul even on a busy day. Heisler is my favorite beach in Laguna.
There is definitely a magic in Laguna that is worth a visit in the summer.
With any painting, there is usually something that compels me to allocate the time and resources to make that painting.
With Umbrella Party, in particular it was the almost interaction between the little girl in the pink bikini and the woman in the red bikini that captured my attention to the point that this painting has been in my mind for several years. I actually couldn’t tell in my photo if they were looking at each other in passing.
I also had a dream of a colorful giant beach scene painting and woke up wishing I’d painted it…and then realized in my dreams I had. This painting isn’t quite what I saw in my dream…although it goes in that direction.
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Similar to the painting I made in 2022 that contained 30 people from around the world, I collaged many interesting people into this painting from various photos. That’s what makes this painting different than most of my beach scenes that are from one shot.
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Fun facts:
This painting contains 8 lbs of oil paint (first time I weighed a painting before/after!)
This painting is based on 40 reference images for this painting + imagination.
There are 100 people minimum in the water alone
Most of the umbrellas I designed and some of the towels too.
There is a rainbow towel dedicated to my friend’s daughter…and various other dedications I haven’t told people about yet.
My mom came up with the title “Umbrella Party” as she was visiting me and reading nearby while I finished the painting.
If you know someone who has a huge wall, who loves color and the beach…please pass this along.
Morning Shine:
Morning Shine by Brooke Harker 36″ x 36″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas
Click here for availability
painting Morning Shine to see scale
Umbrella Story:
Umbrella Story by Brooke Harker 34″ x 38″ ink, oil and & acrylic on canvas
Click here for availability
And whenever you see a painting you might want a reproduction of, let me know. Although they aren’t available all the time since I have reproductions made custom…I can message you privately if there is a custom order going in and yours can be added. It isn’t fast like Amazon…however it is specifically made for you with love when the stars align 🙂
As of right now the next order of canvas reproductions will likely be September 2023.
with gratitude–delivering the new paintings to Lu Martin Galleries
New in the Studio + Commission Spots!
From the Studio:
I’ve been painting away on this 5′ x 7′ beach scene.
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and there are some other smaller sibling paintings to the big one in the studio too that I will share later…keeping in mind that my idea of small is 3′ x 3′ 🙂
Commission Spots:
As several new paintings get finished up, I’m opening a couple spots for commissions to start in Fall of 2023!
If you’ve been thinking about getting a commission, message me if you want your project to be considered for one of these spots…especially if you are picturing a commission of Europe as there is a potential to get references images while I’m there this summer.
I also have tons of reference images waiting to be painted from many locations nationally and internationally.
Flashback to some Commission Projects Over the Years:
A mother wanted her daughters painted by the Eiffel tower. They provided references from their vacation. This one was made on location so I had one of the daughters as a companion.
A father and son wanted paintings for their office of them walking to lunch. They worked together for 25 years and always walked to lunch together.
A mother wanted her son painted on the beach before he went off to college.
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A son wanted his parents to have two paintings of the south of France where they went on vacation every year in his youth. They came to visit with Mango, one of the cutest goldens in the world.
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A daughter didn’t get to go on vacation with her mom to Paris…however the mom had her painted into the scene because someday they will go together.
the colorful houses of San Francisco to represent the fans in our lives – for the Golden State Warriors
outside the Oracle Suites in the Chase Center in San Francisco
a family wanted a painting to symbolize the promise of a new day
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a daughter encouraged her mom in retirement to treat herself to a painting
What places are meaningful to you?
Who would you want to star in your painting?
Would you pick a location you have been to or one you dream of visiting?
Newest Rome painting + Special until May 11th!
Un Giorno Nuovo by Brooke Harker 50″ x 80″ ink, oil and acrylic on canvas
Presenting: Un Giorno Nuovo
The title translates to “A New Day” and comes from the woman who commissioned this when she told me she wanted the painting to represent the promise of a new day.
She shared plans to use this painting to teach her children about optimism.
Booking this commission, to me, was also an act of optimism because she hadn’t yet been to Rome.
Instead of choosing to remember only a place she’d been, she set her sites on future destination to take her children.
Also this is embedded with the knowledge that her father-in-law is from Rome.
detail on Un Giorno Nuovo
So this painting carries both the past and the future in it’s details.
more detail on Un Giorno Nuovo
I feel deeply grateful for the woman who commissioned this painting, both for her lovely spirit and as this a view is one I’d planned to paint larger scale in color since I first saw the scene in 2015.
It was absolute synchronicity that she contacted me a week before I departed for Italy last summer and asked for the very painting that had been in my heart for so many years.
You may recognize this scene in my sketches and paintings over the years.
Side Note:
I’ve also worn a selection of dorky hats while sketching that view in Rome.
Sometimes I take the hat off for a minute for a photo…to pretend like I’m not a dork…although it’s all smoke and mirrors–I’m proudly all about the UV protection:) Unless I find a spot in the shade or early morning…
Other Rome Paintings from this Scene:
This sketch and many experiences inspired Una Vista di Roma.
Una Vista di Roma
Una Vista di Roma by Brooke Harker 48″ x 48″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas
I don’t think I ever put this painting out in one of my newsletters… although it was on social media and in the Saturday Night Live Art Shows video project.
I was busy hoarding this one for a couple years after it’s completion. I wanted to have words to capture what it meant…although there were too many words, too many stories…
This is one I sat next to and sobbed when I dropped it off at the gallery. Luckily the gallery was closed so nobody could see me and the gallery owner was in the other room.
It’s different with each painting, the process of releasing them. I’ve walked thousands of steps for each of them and chosen to mix paint in crazy temperatures under the sun. They each contain layers of histories, friendships and lessons learned. It can be kind of weird being responsible for something for a time and then it’s just gone… off into the world to do it’s job.
If you see giving this painting a good home… and you want a painting embedded with a lot of heart and epic stories of love and friendship, I’ve already cried my tears, this painting is ready to party at your house.
Una Vista di Roma is available at Lu Martin Galleries in Laguna Beach you can see the rate here.
If you like less color, Tempo per Roma, inspired by this view is also available at Lu Martin Galleries, click here for more details. I never felt called to add more color to this one.
Final Chance! until Saturday Feb 25th in LA! 12-3pm
with Across Rodeo, Driving Fire & No Punch Backs at Gabba Gallery in LA
photo by Gilbert Molinet
Gratitude from Opening Night at Gabba Gallery!
Thank you to everyone who made it out for the opening of my solo exhibit!
“Day & Night” at Gabba Gallery, curated by Jason Ostro & Elena Jacobson, runs through this Saturday February 25th!
You can see still see the exhibit in person! Thursday-Saturday 12-3pm
I will be at the gallery for the final day on Saturday, February 25th! 12-3pm
or see the collection virtually here: https://www.gabbagallery.com/brooke-harker-day-and-night
Gabba Gallery
3126 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles
www.gabbagallery
Street Parking
Scroll to see a few photos of people looking at art or click below to see the event album.
Event photography by Gilbert Molinet
Click here to see the full photo album from the event.
Photos of You by the Eiffel Tower?
I thought it would be fun to have a romantic photo essay of couples kissing in front of this painting “Et c’est parti” at my exhibit.
Hah, and then I forgot to ask others to play this game…
Special Thanks to actors Mindy Montavon and Adam Burch who played along!
If you go, you can still play the game!
or play a New Game!
Do you have photos of you riding the carousel in Paris? Or by the Eiffel tower!?
Send photos of you, you and friends/family by the Eiffel tower if you are okay with me putting photos in a fun reel for Instagram! I won’t be able to use everyone’s photos–however I think it will be fun to see your memories and see which ones can fit together!
“Paris is Always A Good Idea”
Here are a couple of my contributions to this photo essay. These are also shared in a link to a blog I posted awhile ago about the association with painting the Eiffel tower: https://www.brookeharker.com/always-a-good-idea/
Save the Date! Feb 11th! + New Paintings!
Solo Exhibit! You’re invited!
“Whether you will be captivated by the night lights of a bustling city or drawn to foreign lands beneath the sun, Harker’s artwork entices viewers with…
Click here to read the rest of the feature about this upcoming exhibit in LA Artparty.
“Brooke’s work radiates joy and a playful sense of adventure. Each painting is like a little vacation transporting you to a beautiful place brimming with it’s own unique energy,”
-Gabba Gallery curator, Elena Jacobson
Mark your calendar to join us at the opening!
Saturday February 11th! 6-10pm
Gabba Gallery
3126 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90057
gabbagallery.com
This Thursday! February Art Walk in Laguna:
Boardwalk Boogie & Duffy Days by Brooke Harker after delivery to Lu Martin Galleries
My two newest paintings have arrived at Lu Martin Galleries in time for First Thursday Art Walk!
See details below!
Join us Thursday, February 2, 2023
6-9pm
Lu Martin Galleries
372 N Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 91651
949-494-8074
https://lumartingalleries.com/
New Paintings! Fun in the Sun:
What colors surround you and keep your spirits high in winter months?
Boardwalk Boogie by Brooke Harker 36″ x 46″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas
Click here for pricing and availability
Beyond my known love of umbrellas, the inspiration for this painting came from the woman walking in her orange hat. She could have easily gone for a stroll in old work out clothes, however she chose to be more epic.
Do people’s wardrobe choices ever brighten your day?
The other day my sister and I found delight in the observation of a guy who passed by on a lime green bike, dressed in stretch pants covered in neon green Christmas trees. The rest of his outfit had flares of metallic gold, very artistic. We are in LA after all, anything goes.
painting Boardwalk Boogie and a close up
When speaking with a friend about the above titled painting, “Boardwalk Boogie,” she said, “But she isn’t dancing is she? Isn’t she just walking?”
I responded, “Yes, she is absolutely just walking, however a dance could break out any moment.”
Who knows a flash mob might perform on the boardwalk.
Although really the word “boogie” in this scenario is code for ‘celebration,’ in the kind of moments that make a person want to do a happy dance for appreciation of the moments that make life beautiful.
There is also a hidden meaning in the title too, a salute to my dear friend Joan Marie, a prolific artist whose fantastical rainbow wardrobe matches her infectious spirit of joy, optimism and fun.
Thousands follow her online, and normally there is a waiting list of a couple years long to order one of her personal power portrait commissions.
a power portrait of the inspiring Lisa Carpenter by Joan Marie
Joan Marie has been a massive source of cheerleading in my life, a true friend, and out of this world fun to interact with as one of my co-hosts of Saturday Night Live Art Shows, the project that encourages artists around the world to share their art from home, a studio or really anywhere including the bathtub.
When Joan Marie gets excited about something, which is frequent, one of her sayings is,
“Oh that’s so boogie woogie! I just want to dance and twirl!”
painting Boardwalk Boogie
So now when you see the word ‘boogie’ in the title of this new painting, dotted with rainbow umbrellas, you know some more of the secret.
The day I met Joan Marie in 2018. She showed up in my life like a rainbow after a storm.
Being Invited on Boats
Duffy Days by Brooke Harker 40″ x 66″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas Click here for pricing and availability
Do you have great boat memories? Or future boat dreams?
Having grown up in the landlocked agricultural state of Iowa, it’s amazing to me that some people grow up with their backyards being a territory for boats. They might get to go for a spin in a Duffy the way my siblings and I would ride our bikes around in the nearby church parking lot.
A couple of years ago, I joined a coaching program that asked participants to envision what they wanted to create in their lives.
As someone who often sees tons of little details in the moment, and could easily spend a chunk of the day fascinated by the way light shines through leaves, I’ve neglected the vision of a bigger picture sometimes. As thoughts of the future seemed foggy, I focused on the details that popped forward in my mind.
I wanted to be the kind of person who gets invited on boats.
I’d shared this dream with my friend Dasha Guilliam, fellow artist at Lu Martin Galleries, the year prior. She explained to me that in boat culture, people don’t just get invited on boats last minute, that it takes planning.
Nonetheless, I took multiple photography trips to Newport Beach, California with the vision that at any moment, despite Dasha’s reality check, I might get invited on a boat. In an act of perfect act synchronicity, I’d be out taking photos or drawing and meet fabulously interesting people who would invite me to go on a boat with them. Then I’d see the perfect composition for painting.
I probably could have dreamed of owning a boat, or even renting one, however I wanted to meet boat people. I wanted to hear stories of a lifetime on the water, tales that would be different than what I knew as normal.
By the end of that coaching program, called TCP with Jim Fortin, my dream to be invited on a boat came true. I kind of wished I’d dreamed even bigger!
with the boat captain, Stan
Over a year since my friend Dasha schooled me on boat culture, she called to say her friend Joe had a friend who could take us out on his boat. I could take photos, and she too had a photoshoot project of her own.
Stan the owner of the boat, a retired fireman and contractor, generously ushered us around the harbor. I snapped photos in all directions. Attempting to get a shot of boats in a perfect composition is a bit like herding wild cats. Stan talked about how he grew up in Newport Beach, pointed out various family homes and told us stories about being on the water. He’d recently purchased land in Costa Rica where he’d be sailing his boat to build a refuge for endangered wild animals.
Duffy Days is the first painting made from that boat trip. I’d like to share in some sort of fancy boat language what kind of boat we were on. Although what I remember is that it was a big boat with six sails that looked like a giant pirate ship as it cruised through the harbor. Heads turned to watch this massive boat go by.
I even got to drive for a bit.
Random fact: The boat with the red roof in Duffy Days, actually drew reference from a follow up Duffy tour with fellow artist friends from Lu Martin Galleries. A dream continued.
Immense gratitude for friends along the way…
There was a lesson too in being willing to aiming sights and focus towards a destination.
Nobody gets where they are wanting to go without taking the steps to get there…
unless we are talking about magical portals or something, which is a whole other Harry Potter or super hero type topic.
As we go into 2023, I hope wherever you set your destination, that your voyage brings you joy, and you interact with cool people along the way.
And if you intend to see an original painting on your wall, set yourself up as worthy to arrive at that destination. You are already there.
NEW Greece Paintings, cute dog + my mom’s Holiday Sale
La Magie du Carrousel in it’s new home -68″ x 68″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas
Are Your Walls Ready for the Holidays?
May you celebrate the fortune of having created an environment that you love!
If your space isn’t quite there yet, there are options to brighten any room and thousands of artists in the world who would love to trade energy with you!
Purchasing art is simply that, an energy trade. It is exchanging where you have put your energy for where someone else has put their energy.
“Days Gone By” in it’s new home – 45″ x 80″ ink & acrylic on canvas
New Paintings of Greece:
Both of these Santorini paintings were inspired by original sketches made on location while in Greece. Scroll below to see those sketches and the paintings in process.
Santorini Dreams by Brooke Harker 49″ x 72″ ink & acrylic on fabric. Click here for pricing and availability.
Meet Me in Santorini by Brooke Harker 48″ x 82″ ink & acrylic on fabric. Click here for pricing and availability
Message me if you are interested in either of these. They aren’t up on my website or other platforms until next week. They can ship in a roll or stretched.
Sketching in Oia- Santorini, Greece
Behind the Scenes: Greece Paintings
The undeniable magic of Santorini and other life circumstances motivated me to to skip a longer period of ruminating and take action to make larger paintings upon my return to Italy.
My friend, host and art curator, Alfio Borghese, offered me rolls of large blue fabric to painting on. At first, I dismissed the suggestion because I’m accustomed to painting on white canvas and didn’t know how blue would work.
However, that is how life goes, we don’t know how things will turn out when we start. Life is a string of taking chances from the moment we wake each morning.
As I often see the process of painting as a mirror of life, I embraced the adventure of the not knowing in making these.
There was something so freeing about rolling out a huge sheet of this blue canvas fabric and knowing I could make whatever I wanted under the trees.
I carried a lot of rocks and flower pots in the days I made these to weight the canvas from the wind.
I frequently swept the fabric with a broom as leaves would blow onto the art while I worked.
Ants and a brigade of other insects marched across the paintings throughout the day. They amazed me with their persistence to carry flower petals much bigger than their bodies.
As the sun shifted, I dragged these giant paintings around the farm to move to the next spot with even light or shade, which meant bringing all the rocks to the new location.
And I did have a helper…
…who was always by my side or camped near the paintings.
He always reminded me to take a break.
Many people asked if I fell in love in Italy…yes, with this guy.
He was a constant parade of cuteness from the moment I attempted to begin my day with yoga
To our morning walks to the field to pick wild blackberries.
Love is always the key ingredient in art, and he kept a flow of love always around me.
Together in Time in it’s new home – 54″ x 74″
May Love Always Surround You! A few paintings that found loving homes in 2022!
Go with the Flow & In the Flow in their new home 42″ x 42 ” each
Speaking of LOVE!
with my mom Nanci McCune and her painting Tunnel of Clouds
HOLIDAY SALE of my Mom’s Art! until Dec. 21st!
I’m blessed to be inspired and raised by such a creative loving mother.
AND you can join the club of people who have her originals. She has a few paintings left in her Holiday Sale!
Some of you may have seen in my last update the painting of Venice that my mom made at 15 years old. I grew up looking at her art and watching her paint. She was going back to college for art when I was seven years old, and I remember going to the university with her and getting to set up next to her easel.
Never underestimate the power of children to learn from what you surround them with.
Desert Medley by Nanci McCune 18″ x 24″ oil on canvas
SPECIAL HOLIDAY RATE: $500 including shipping in continental U.S. (normally $930)
Tunnel of Clouds by Nanci McCune 18″ x 24″ oil on canvas
SPECIAL HOLIDAY RATE: $500 including shipping in continental U.S. (normally $930)
Saguaro Fire by Nanci McCune 18″ x 24″ oil on canvas
SPECIAL HOLIDAY RATE: $500 including shipping in continental U.S. (normally $930)
If you would like to buy one of these paintings for your walls, let me know and I will connect you with my mom:)
If you haven’t seen my 2022 video about the importance of buying original art, check it out!
This might help you understand that you are worth the energy of handmade art…it matters and so do you.
Click here to see “Brooke Harker & The Energy of Original Art” on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3ArYfS9v9f8
or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brooke.harker.7/videos/801378757806478
or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjoO-HSrV7H/?hl=en
Art Celebrates Thanksgiving
I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!
Spring in Rome getting ready to party
I love it when people send photos of art getting ready to be at family gatherings!
Art has a way of seeping into the unconscious.
I remember going to my Grandmother’s house as a child for holidays and staring at a painting of Venice, Italy on her wall for hours.
Years later, I learned that my mom had made the painting when she was fifteen years old.
A Venice Scene by my mom, Nanci McCune, age 15
My mom had never been to Venice; she still hasn’t. She made the painting based on a very old photograph she found in the basement storage room of her parent’s house. The reference was tarnished, dark and disintegrating. She improvised and guessed the colors of the buildings.
It kind of amazes me to think that my fifteen-year-old mother had no idea how much her painting would inspire her future daughter.
Often times people tell me that they will buy art for their walls after their children go to college. I get the idea of financial priorities. I also know first hand the power of art offering a window into other worlds of possibilities, and I believe children deserve that, everyone does.
Almost Holiday Card Time! for 2021/22
It’s that biannual time of year again, when I cut up scraps of canvas covered in left over paint saved from the previous two years. The paint remnants get made into Holiday Cards for the collectors who adopt my art on canvas.
If you have moved and are a collector, send me your new address! If you have one of my paintings and haven’t received a card, message me too!
If you would like to be on the list, there is still time to become a collector before the holidays!
back from Italy & Greece + a NEW Video
Port Amoudi in Oia- Santorini, Greece
Back from Adventures in Greece
Do you want to see a painting of Greece on your walls?
My dad would immediately make a joke about Greece being slippery.
Technically, I almost wiped out about six times descending steps in Santorini to see boats at the port of Oia. I’d forgotten my hiking shoes. I recommend if you ever go to that location having shoes with traction.:)
I did find Santorini quite a magical place. Have you been there?
I was on cloud 9 taking photographs for paintings.
taking photos in Oia- Santorini, Greece
Akrotiri, Greece
Imerovigli, Greece
sketching in Oia-Santorini, Greece
Most of all, I loved sketching live at locations and watching the sun move across the buildings.
sketching in Imerovigli- Santorini, Greece
I realized it’s the sitting in a place for hours absorbing the energy that is the most important…because that is the energy that goes into the art and to other people’s homes. I get to carry that energy with me… a piece of magic that doesn’t weigh down the luggage.
Italian Summer
I spent most of the summer in Italy.
This was my view from the bus stop near the farm I stayed on in the Appenine Mountains near the town of Paliano, Italy
(sketching in Cave, Italy)
Again, it was sketching live that captured my heart.
I learned to take the bus to neighboring towns and to Rome.
To be continued… in the sharing of more art and adventures:)
NEW Video! Ready for you to See!!!
“Brooke Harker & the Energy of Original Art”
The above photos are shots from my new professional video…I emphasize “professional” since many of you have witnessed my weekly informal videos since 2020.
Click here to see on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3ArYfS9v9f8
or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brooke.harker.7/videos/801378757806478
or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjoO-HSrV7H/?hl=en
If you think of anyone who might love this video or be called to adopt my art for their walls, please share!
Closing Event Thurs May 26th! & Art Talk Replay
Last Chance This Week
We are in the final week of “Buona Fortuna” at Michael Hayden Gallery in LA!
This could be you, looking at art.
In our artist talk this past Sunday, the topic of how art promotes problem solving skills came up, both for the people making art and those who learn to see.
Studies show that children who develop their creativity more are less likely to resort to violence because they have the imagination to see ways out of their problems.
So pack the kids and bring them to see art, even on a school night. I grew up seeing art on most school nights:)
with art talk facilitator John Paul Thornton and Michael Hayden
Click here to watch some of the replay of “Art & Energy” from May 22, 2022
Click here to see many many photos of the opening and preview reception.
Artist Talk Sunday! + featured in Art Report Today
Will you visit us for Sunday Fun-day?
I hope your Sunday will either be relaxing and rejuvenating
and/or Super Fun!!!
If you see adding a visit to Michael Hayden Gallery to your roster of fun, we would love to see you!
with John Paul Thornton and at the opening of “Buona Fortuna”
I’m over the moon excited to get to be in an art talk with Michael Hayden facilitated by John Paul Thornton!! Not only is he an amazing artist (who was invited to exhibit on the White House lawn!), he is a fascinating lecturer and educator who has lead groups to see art all over the world!
John Paul Thornton with recent artworks.
Learn more about him here: https://www.johnpaulthornton.com/#home
And check out his book :
Other Fun-day Features:
Frequently asked question (by me) will Daisy and Lefty be there? and the answer is usually “of coarse.”
Gallery Dogs: Daisy + duck & Lefty at Michael Hayden Gallery in front of “Love of the Voyage” – 46″x 68″- ink, oil & acrylic on canvas.
So if this isn’t enough fun yet, being around the art of Michael Hayden is like getting to take a bath in healing colors…although nobody will be bathing at the gallery.
Really his artwork must be experienced in person.
If you can’t join us Sunday, the Closing Reception will be:
Thursday May 26, 2022 6-10pm
or visit the gallery during open hours Tues-Friday 1-6 or by appointment.
Featured in Art Report Today!
Click here to check out the article by Dale Youngman.
