"Bull" by Damien Vines, 22x28in, charcoal and ink (2015), $80 | BUY NOW — *"Bull" by Damien Vines, 22x28in, charcoal and ink (2015), $80 | BUY NOW*

"Skateboard" by Damien Vines, 30x8in, acrylic and oil markers (2016), $100 | BUY NOW — *"Skateboard" by Damien Vines, 30x8in, acrylic and oil markers (2016), $100 | BUY NOW*

Viewing the work of an art student can illustrate the development of ideas, almost as if we are given glimpses into the creative mind, watching in real time the active thinking that is at play. Damien Vines’ drawings here are sometimes, simple and linear, but also rough sketches of larger themes that the young artist may be only beginning to explore. His approach is very illustrative, with a fair dose of the fantastical present. His design for a skateboard might have appeared in magazines or a comic book, so clearly is that ancestry evoked, but what of the Bull? Exposed to the bone and dripping from slaughter, the beast carries a burden on his back; the weight of industrialized society. It’s a provocative image made all the more impactful by the subtle turn of the bovine head, which stares at the viewer with one, empty, blood-red eye socket. Does it go far to imagine the dripping red beneath might suggest tears?

“My work aims to make the viewer question the intent of subtle meaning and symbolism, I aim to make the work not one note but instead to create a conversation. I explore imagery and ideas that might be considered disturbing such as living with serious mental illness or the boundary between psychopathy and fictional characters.”

Despite his more serious intentions, Vines is clearly enjoying himself with lighter, irreverent collages such as this one that ‘paints’ one arm of Michelangelo’s David with candy color, covering the body like a post-Modern pauldron or vambrace - pieces of protective armor. The contrast in the approaches are may seem sharp, but it is clear evidence of the uncertain, restless mind that drives an artist to communicate.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 21
Education: BFA candidate, Painting and Drawing, Kentucky College of Art + Design at Spalding University, Louisville, Kentuck

"Drawings (series)" by Damien Vines, 8.5x11in, dry point prints and watercolor (2016), $120 | BUY NOW — *"Drawings (series)" by Damien Vines, 8.5x11in,* dry point prints and watercolor (2016), $120 | BUY NOW

*"Untitled" by Damien Vines, 16x20in, graphite and pastel (2016)*

*"Untitled #2" by Damien Vines, 4x6in, collage (2016)*

*"Untitled #3" by Damien Vines, 18x24in, markers on paper (2015)*

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Painting

Vignette: Elsie Harris

Josh Jenkins · December 5, 2016

*Elsie Harris in her studio. Photo by Ayla Christman.*

People born and raised in Appalachia often speak of a connection with the land that sounds unique to that experience. Certainly they have no monopoly on such appreciation for nature, and the pastoral figures in the biographies of a wide variety of artists, but the eastern region that stretch from the Southern Tier of New York to northern Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia has a cultural identification with environment that sets it apart from other areas.

Elsie Harris is one such artist. Claiming a life-long connection to the land: “As a child I would wander into the woods and sit on a hilltop to innately be a part of it…mountains, rocks, creeks and hillside ridges. It is where I find both joy and serenity,” she sketches areas that attract her attention, and translates those studies onto canvas, using heightened color to capture the experience of being on the site. This emphasis on subjective emotion places her firmly in the expressionist camp, yet there remains some degree of attachment to the realism, and a sense of place.

"Radiance" by Elsie Harris, 32x40in, acrylic on canvas, $1100 | BUY NOW — *"Radiance" by Elsie Harris, 32x40in, acrylic on canvas, $1100 | BUY NOW*

“My intention then was to push the edges, processes and limits of realism with color, configuration and composition while still being faithful to an original image. For me it is a magical intimacy – a spiritual consciousness – one with nature – that is the message in my work.”

You can currently find Harris’s work in two Kentucky galleries: CRAFT(s) Gallery, 572 South Fourth Street, Louisville, and Art of Danville Gallery, 413 West Main Street, Danville.

Harris' work is seen in many corporate acquisitions and personal collections both here and abroad. Her paintings have also been included in various juried and invitational exhibits across the nation, and she has been commissioned to produce paintings and graphics for numerous organizations. She has worked as a graphic artist with Kentucky Educational Television, and has been involved in an administration capability with many arts organizations and agencies in Kentucky.

"Falling Tree" by Elsie Harris, 30x32in, acrylic on canvas, $760 | BUY NOW — *"Falling Tree" by Elsie Harris, 30x32in, acrylic on canvas, $760 | BUY NOW*

Exhibits - Invitational:
Hunt Morgan House: Art Connects, Lexington, KY, 2016
KY Crafted: Breeders Cup Exhibition, Lexington, KY, 2015
Coop; Sale: Group Exhibit and sale, 2015
Grid: Creativity by the Square Foot, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY, 2015
Gallery on Main, Richmond, KY, 2014
KY Guild of Artist/Craftsmen, Berea, KY, 2014
LexArts, ArtsPlace Gallery, Lexington, KY, 2014

Recent Exhibits:
At the Rivers Bend, Evansville Museum, 2016
OH + 5 2016, Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, OH, 2016
Visions at the Capital Fifty/50, 2016
2016 Horizon: Contemporary Landscape exhibition, 2016
Appalachian Artist Guild National Juried Show, Blue Ridge, GA, 2011, 2014
OH+5, Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, OH, 2013, 2015

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky
Education: BA, Fine Art, University of Kentucky; AA, Fine Art, Sullins Junior College
Website: http://www.elsieharris.com

"Whispering Hills" by Elsie Harris, 30x32in, acrylic on canvas, $850 | BUY NOW — *"Whispering Hills" by Elsie Harris, 30x32in, acrylic on canvas, $850 | BUY NOW*

"Sunshine In" by Elsie Harris, 30x40in, acrylic on canvas, $1050 | BUY NOW — *"Sunshine In" by Elsie Harris, 30x40in, acrylic on canvas, $1050 | BUY NOW*

sketches

Vignette: Damien Vines

Vignette: Elsie Harris