Charley Harper

When it comes to art, I'm a pretty simple girl. Sure, yeah, Van Gogh, da Vinci, they're nice. But who cares? Really? (Just kidding, I know a lot of people care, and yes they're completely amazing and well-rendered, blah blah blah.) But when it comes to things that I actually enjoy, I prefer something more stylized.
Enter, Charley Harper.

My art teacher recommended him for me, and I'm so very glad she did. His work is simply fantastic (plus, he was darned adorable). It's no secret that I love animal paintings/drawings. I just feel like animals have such quirky, and very real, personalities that we don't often take the time to see. After doing a bit of commercial work in the 1950's, Harper did a lot of work for conservationists and zoos and whatnot. (Which, hello, are often quite boring, bland, and bleeding-heart-oriented. No offense guys. You know it's true). But Harper's illustrations knock that blandness right off the pages.
Honestly, you can't tell me Harper didn't chuckle a bit to himself while he painted this. Anyone who has even smidgen of a backyard has seen this scenario take place at least once in their life. (Let me tell you, if you haven't seen this, you might think to put your money on the squirrel because he has, you know, arms. But ohhh no. Birds are evil and scrappy.)

Besides that... his work is sometimes creepy
(Yeep!)

Sometimes endearing
(...or seductive according to the title? Ai-yee!)

Sometimes a bit of both

Some of them even feature people
He has a few different series of Palm Springs, the Hot Springs, and the Grand Ole Opry, among other touristy destinations, and they're just hilarious.

It's encouraging to see someone who felt that art was about "leaving things out" rather than putting everything in. I sometimes feel, in my own work, that being minimalist isn't as fabulous as being realistic. In order to be considered a "true artist" you have to be either incredibly weird and misunderstood or incredibly traditionally talented.
And that's just not me.
I like animals. I like cute. I like quirk. And sometimes I draw because I like to draw, not because I have some deep existential meaning behind it.
So, thank you Mr. Charley Harper, for reminding me to "always be doing something that satisfies you, what makes you feel good inside."
What makes me feel good inside?
Doodling animals.
Laughing when my creations take on personalities that I didn't necessarily plan.
Painting what's magical, not what's accurate.
Much like Harper, I prefer to "never count the feathers in the wings; I just count the wings.”

You've helped rejuvenate me, Mr. Harper, and I thank you for that.


Many of the pictures are from this Flickr site and Charley Harper's own site. Be sure to check them out. There were about a zillion other pictures I wanted to post, but figured that might be overkill.