In college, Erica Harney was told by a professor to paint large when it came to doing art.
She took the advice literally.
This past week, Harney donated three 9-foot paintings to hospitals around the region, including the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, Vt., and the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.
The paintings, done while Harney was in college, were `doing nothing but taking up space in her father’s basements.`
She has been in contact with 25 to 30 regional hospitals to find homes for the five paintings.
`This way, they can be displayed and be enjoyed, because what good is art if nobody sees it?` said Harney.
Harney, who grew up in Clifton Park, said she was born to be an artist.
`Legend has it that when my parents put me in a highchair with crayons, I would just amuse myself for hours coloring. In elementary school and all throughout high school, I was the artistic kid.` said Harney. `It was always kind of a given that I was going to go to art school.`
Harney attended Alfred State University, majoring in painting and minoring in art history. She graduated magna cum laude in 2006, and spent time in a study abroad program at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy.
`There’s really no better place I can think of to study art` said Harney. `It was life-changing in a personal and professional way.`
After graduation, Harney returned to Saratoga Springs to teach classes at Skidmore College, as well as work at the campus’s Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery as an Installation Assistant/Art Handler and Gallery Associate. She considers the return home a way to take some time off from college and get some field experience.
`This was the area where I had the flexibility to have a day job as well as the freedom to get to work, and so I paint every day in the studio. Being at the Tang is a really good learning opportunity for me being in that field.`
Harney describes her art style as a `dynamic juxtaposition of images and fragmentation,` a self-described kaleidoscope, combining colors and shapes to create something new.
`I try to create something that makes a statement; something that when you walk into a room, you notice it.`
Harney cites such artists as Fred Tomaselli, Glen Goldberg, Janet Fish, James Rosenquist, and her high school art teacher Chris Murray as her biggest influences. Harney is also a member of the Evolutionary Girls Club, an art organization based in Western New York, and has exhibited her work solo at both the VARGA gallery in Woodstock and the Daily Grind CafE in Troy. She has also done duet and group exhibitions at the Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild in Larchmont, Eagle Crest Winery in Conesus, and at Bad As Art and the Eba Gallery, both in Albany.
Now, Harney is set to take on the next chapter in her life, as she will attend Penn State this fall in order to obtain her master’s degree, and will teach classes at the college as well. From there, her plans are as blank as the canvas on which she paints.
`As long as you love what you do, then nothing else mattersI think if you’re happy and you love what you do, you’ll find a measure of success.`
For more information on Erica Harney and to see more of her work, visit her Web site at www.ericaharney.com.“