Harris Holt art

HARRIS HOLT has deep roots in North Carolina. Charlotte has been his home since 1967, but his early childhood was spent in the slow-paced, small town of Laurinburg. Harris is descended from Michael Holt, a German immigrant who came to America in the late 1600’s as an indentured servant to the governor of Virginia. He is largely responsible for North Carolina's textile milling legacy, which he began when he settled in Alamance County in the early-1700’s.

Harris's love for the South comes from his father's long-time roots in North Carolina, but New England, his mother's family's home for three generations, is important to him as well. He was actually born in Northhampton, Massachusetts where his mother and father lived briefly, before returning to North Carolina. He has a sincere appreciation for the beauty of both of these beautiful regions of the country.

As a youngster, Harris's aptitude for drawing and painting was nurtured and encouraged by his parents and teachers. As a teen, he studied with Al Fincher, a renowned watercolor artist and teacher. Except for these studies and a degree in commercial art and advertising design, Harris is self-taught; an eye for creative composition and attention to perspective and detail are among his greatest assets. He also has a gift for finding incredible interest and depth in the everyday objects most of us overlook. His love of the natural beauty of the earth shows through in his paintings of land, sea and sky.

His paintings offer diversity of subject matter, featuring landscapes, coastal scenes, mountains and pastorals, historic architecture, and interesting people. Most of Harris's paintings focus on the natural beauty of the earth and the picturesque scenery of North and South Carolina, but he also paints subject matter from his travels throughout the US.

In a recent feature magazine article, journalist LouAnn Lamb says, "Whether the subject is a mountain view or a craggy face, Harris Holt's paintings are both honest and tender. His realistic technique shows enormous talent and extreme discipline, but something in the colors whispers that this artist transfers the love and support he has received into each brush stroke given to paper."

Working in transparent watercolor, Harris has mastered a dry brush technique that enables him to paint with a unique richness of color and a control and clarity rarely seen in watercolors. "My style requires complete control of water and pigment. Watercolors can be very unforgiving, but when the creativity flows, they yield a touch of magic. Their translucence allows me to engage the viewer in the painting. My goal is to evoke a specific feeling within each viewer so they are participants in my art," Harris says. " I hope to entice people into the scene, to create a stirring in the heart for the beauty of our surroundings, both touched and untouched by human existence."

Since 1995, Harris has ventured into oil painting, applying his rich, detailed, unique style to canvas. His technique has translated beautifully to oils; his remarkable clarity and colors draw the viewer into each painting. He has also done some sculpting, the results of which reflect his incredible versatility and expertise in all artistic venues.

Offering two to four paintings each year as limited edition prints, Harris has begun to explore the new world of Gicleé (Iris) printing, a state-of-the-art process that takes advantage of new technology to offer improved color, clarity and substrate when producing prints.

He also has offered a small number of open edition prints, color and pen & ink,, at the request of fine gift shops and collectors. These are always new images, as Harris has a commitment to the integrity of printing each image just once. He remains self-published by choice, so that he can participate fully in the choosing, production and distribution of each of his prints.

In addition to painting the scenes that he comes upon, Harris is also a watercolorist for Historic Charlotte, painting historically accurate paintings of important southern landmarks of the past. Harris also makes art presentations to organizations and in schools, is a frequent guest lecturer about his art and North Carolina history, and teaches watercolor classes and workshops. His workshops have taken him as far as Alabama, and in January 2000, he gave a mini-workshop for Our State Magazine readers at the Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC.

Harris lives, works and plays in Charlotte with his wife, Lyn, and his daughters, Jamie and Lauren. In addition to painting, Harris enjoys traveling with the family to far-flung places and to all of the corners of North Carolina, in search of beautiful places to paint. He is also a doting father who attends his teen and pre-teen daughters' soccer games, school activities and choir performances. He and Lyn coach both Jamie and Lauren's Odyssey of the Mind teams. An active member of Christ Episcopal Church, he recently built a manger and prayer candle stand for use in Advent activities at the church! His hobbies include building anything and everything, including a three-man sea kayak. When there's time (he would say, "when Lyn's not working him to death!), he is remodeling their 50+ year old home!