As developers turn forests to asphalt fields, Cathy Harville races to record the lands remaining.
“I can barely keep up with painting places that are paved over. I try to capture little-known natural places that may go unnoticed as we all hurry by in the rush of our normal business,” said the Gambrills artist. “Most of the lands I paint are places I?m afraid are going to be destroyed in the future by erosion, developers and global warming.”
Harville?s latest exhibit, Finding Nature, fills the bb bistro in Annapolis with about 12 small pastels and acrylics, ranging in size from five by five to 12 by 16 inches.
Her depictions of parks, creeks and swamps invite viewers to put themselves into the landscapes and seascapes, said Harville, a member of four juried groups including the Artists? Gallery in Columbia and the Maryland Federation of Art.
“With colors, I try to draw viewers in, but at the same time keep the painting peaceful. I try to make the scene someplace they?d like to stay for awhile,” Harville said. She uses pastel pigments she describes as “alive with a jewel-like quality. The light hits them and they glow. You can feel them move.”
Harville?s “beautiful sense of color” expresses a great deal of feeling and meaning, said fellow Artists? Gallery member, Cher Compton of Moonstruck Studio.
“Clinging to the Point,” a landscape, is an example of Harville?s eye for nature?s overlooked beauty. “The tree is clinging for dear life to the shore as itleans toward the water,” Harville said. “Hundreds of thousands of cars cross over the bridge but never see it.”
“We all experience these moments when you drive to a certain area, and it?s been totally devastated by construction,” said Clarksville resident and Artists? Gallery member, Nancy Davis.
“Cathy has a unique power to capture beauty of landscape before it disappears.”
Harville?s versatility and desire to experiment amazes fellow Artists? Gallery member, Diane Dunn.
“She hasn?t gotten caught in the little place where other artists do. Some find an approach or medium that works and stay there forever, but she?s always forging new ground.”
