Wild Heart

“A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages.” ~Tennessee Williams

Balloon Series: She Flies Alone

I continue to work on this series of paintings which will be featured in an upcoming exhibit. They are still in process and progress and I am loving creating them. As always, I have an abundance of other ideas but cherish these small works....all 12" x 12" because they are so near and dear to my heart. Although seemingly "dark", they are wonderfully uplifting to me on a personal level and mark a great transition in my work and my thought. I tend to be misunderstood but trust that they are works that celebrate growth, confidence and self discovery. I must put these aside to finish a more traditional and much larger portrait commission but there are certainly more balloons that will take flight. Stylized,sentimental,autobiographical? Yes, yes and yes!
View my balloon series album on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1011224&l=f59614c391&id=1483745280

Awaken Poppy So That You May "See!"

Have patience with me! It seems as though my art is as erratic and varied as my thoughts and emotions these days. I decided to try my hand at illustration as opposed to creating my "fine art", whatever that means....does it matter? I don't think most people that I know can be defined by a single endeavor ...a sole purpose or profession? Today I was inspired to create an illustration for a children's book. I have had ideas and have actually written ,but not completed, several book concepts. Ah, my usual pattern of behaviour...the incomplete, the unfinished, the rough sketch. If I resolve one of these ideas, I am confident it will move me forward. I am committed to the process . I realize that it is the work that will guide me. My thoughts are abundant but I've decided to attempt to give "life" to even a few...to share them....despite how they may be received.

So I'll introduce you to Pouting Poppy:)   Okay, in all honesty,until today she simply lived in my imagination , actually she didn't exist until I put brush to paper. This is my first attempt at developing her character. A good solid days effort. I like her:) She will undoubtedly evolve... Remember the painting that I scrapped after 30 hours of effort? Well, I tore the gessoed paper in half, rotated it, sanded it, applied an additional ground and voila! Poppy appeared:) I know, crazy huh? I tell my students that artists use their errors...they conceal and alter them...and sometimes they themselves are pleasantly surprised by what results. I know, I know.... one day Lucien Freud for inspiration and the next Stian Hole:)

So here is some "rough" accompanying text for for my new friend. I can imagine my own kids cringing at this moment ,whispering to themselves that Jubraseph has finally gone off the deep end. Actually, I feel as though I am awakening from a deep sleep and seeing myself for the first time. I am learning to appreciate the unexpected.

"Pouting Poppy" illustrations Jude Harzer

 2010 all rights reserved Jude Harzer Fine Art

"Skies of blue....blossoms red,
 Beauty unseen by a heart unfed,
 Poor pouting Poppy... loved ...she would wake,
 To a world of dreams...all hers to take...."
 "Wake Poppy, wake!"

Sheesh I gotta' wake this girl up:) To be continued....
Dave Matthews: Blackbird
And just because ya have to dance after all that painting:):
Crazy In Love

"That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment, she did not yet suspect." Kate Chopin, The Awakening

How Long Have I Been Sleeping?

My painting, "How Long Have I Been Sleeping?", is about personal "awakening".It celebrates those "aha" moments when I felt as though a veil had been lifted from my eyes and from my heart and suddenly I was able to see myself and others as never before.These experiences have led to significant personal changes, the most important being the rediscovery of my art and a whole lot of self forgiveness and forgiveness of others in my life.
"How Long Have I Been Sleeping?" is currently on display at the TriCity Arts event in Asbury Park, NJ.
The thing is, once we have been awakened to "who" we are and honestly consider our choices, our purpose and our dreams, it is difficult to fall back to sleep. Hmmm...insomnia is not always a pleasant state of being:)

"That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment, she did not yet suspect."...
"The past was nothing to her; offered no lesson which she was willing to heed. The future was a mystery which she never attempted to penetrate. The present alone was significant..." ....
"I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear; it's only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me." quotes from The Awakening Kate Chopin 1899

An interesting read:Transforming Dreams: Learning Spiritual Lessons from the Dreams You Never Forget Kelly Bulkeley 1986

How Long Have I Been Sleeping?

These images are details of a larger composition, entitled, How Long Have I Been Sleeping?
It is another work "in process" and a significant transitional piece for me. It reveals a marriage of everything that I love about art and painting in particular: color, the human portrait
as subject matter, texture, pattern and symbolism. My daughter, Christina and Lillianna, the beautiful daughter of painter, Joseph Breza and his wife Emily, from Santa Fe, New Mexico,
served as models for this piece.

The title makes reference to the fact that I abandoned my painting for nearly 20 years. My "awakening" has made me more passionate and aware of the beauty that surrounds me, that is within me, that inspires me to want to paint every possible moment. Someone once
told me that even when I am not physically painting, I am still creating with my eyes and in my mind. At nearly 45, I have truly "awakened".
Only those who have awakened know that they were sleeping. -Jim Paredes