Self-taught painter lives in artistic moment

BY KIRK STARRATT

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

A self-taught artist and woodcarver in Kentville says he doesn’t have a favourite subject other than what he’s inspired to work on in the moment. And it could be nearly anything.

Garnard Harrington said he started painting about 15 years ago when he retired from the Nova Scotia Community College Kingstec Campus. He was a cosmetology instructor and later served as coordinator of the co-op education program.

Harrington’s medium of choice is acrylic. He said he goes through different phases in terms of subject matter. He started doing still life before making a lateral move to landscapes. More recently, he has started to paint birds, including a recent work inspired by a photo of a cardinal taken by his wife, Phyllis.

“I never know from one day to the next where it’ll go,” he said in regard to his choice of subject matter.

He said Phyllis is a big help when it comes to locating pictures or other sources of inspiration for his work. As well, he has been awakened in the night by jolts of artistic inspiration that get him out of bed and working at a particular piece.

Some days he’ll paint for 12 or 13 hours. When it comes to details, Harrington will work painstakingly for hours to get a certain aspect of a painting just as he wants it.

Been carving wood for 20 years

Harrington said he carves figurines from wood as well and has been doing that for about 20 years, longer than he has been painting. However, he said he enjoys painting more because he doesn’t find it as messy. He’s self-taught when it comes to woodcarving as well.

He said he became interested in woodcarving when a fellow from Grand-Pre, Earl Young, went to Kingstec to take a course in woodcarving. Earl and his wife, Sheila Young, produce stunning waterfowl carvings. Earl does the carving and Sheila does the painting.

More recently, Harrington has become interested in painting birds on rocks he collected from the Peggy’s Cove area. He got the idea from a trip to Bear River, where he was inspired by a fellow he saw at a market painting pictures on rocks.

He said he would sell pieces on occasion to the right person, but family members, especially his children, have a lot of his paintings and woodcarvings. He’s currently working on an eagle for his grandson.

He said you sometimes form a bond with a piece once you’ve spent 200 hours working on it and he knows if he sells a piece, he won’t see it again. This is one reason why he loves giving his work to family members; he knows he’ll be able to see it again.

Phyllis said she’s impressed with the wide range of paintings and carvings Garnard has produced over the years and sometimes she doesn’t see him for hours when the artistic inspiration sets in.