original painting by Brooke Harker, 2012.
“Urban Rain” is part of a series of 4 paintings made in 2012 that were 7ft tall. I had
no idea how much arm strength I would build from hauling them around. I
discovered that in order to photograph them in proper sunlight, I had to tie them
to street signs across the street from my studio and then go back to my side of the street to
take the photo. 3 out of the 4 paintings were made from live sketches…The sun had
dropped too much for me to finish the fourth sketch downtown–(I explain why
under the Persching Square piece) so I used a photo. In all honesty, it wasn’t
raining…it’s just that I stubbornly painted this in my outdoor studio when it got
dark…so the painting shaded darker than I intended. I had pneumonia at the time
and wasn’t thinking clearly or honoring the boundaries that sometimes bodies
ask us to give ourselves. I learned a lesson with that and I grieved my original
intention not being fulfilled in the way I wanted it to. I guess that happens with art
sometimes. The circumstances help give the painting it’s own life.
Brooke Harker
