I have a serious thing for chinoiserie. I am also a great lover of color. Harrison Howard started his career as a decorative painter and worked for various well known firms all over the country. While he will still paint wonderful murals for your home he has also been putting his work down on paper, canvas, and panels.
Inspired by 18th century painter Jean Pillement, he paints whimsical and vibrantly colored chinese men painting crabs, floating through clouds in wonderful boats, and looking through telescopes. His series of flower and shell people remind me of children’s book illustrations- truly magical. His shell series are also beautiful. His pieces work anywhere- a living room, dining room, hallway, or bedroom and I would love to see his shell and flower people framed in a nursery. If you look closely in Lonny issue 3 I have two of his watercolors hanging in my dining room. They are special pieces and made by someone who is passionate about his work. I have attached some examples of his work below:

Chinoiseries:

The Astronomer

The Fisherman

The Two Gardeners- I love that their garden is inside the yellow gazebo

The Two Workmen-  Hanging a shell inside the pagoda while the lobster pulls another large clam shell up.

The Butterfly Keeper- I love his robes!

The Yellow Sail- Reminds me of the children’s book “The Owl and The Pussy Cat”. The peacock tail feathers as a rudder are amazing.

Arranging Drapery – I love her pet hermit crab and the large red sea urchin

The Dowery

Flower and Shell People: Their hats are fabulous! These prints are perfect for a little girls bedroom.  Think how many bedtime stories you could weave from a few of these hanging on your little girl’s wall.

Parasol In The Air

The Reader

The Letter Writer – I love her wicker desk, black shawl, the blue and white ginger jar holding her hand fan and architectural plans, and most of all her broad flower petal hat.  It reminds me of a fabulous hat you would wear to the Kentucky Derby.

Shells: These are screaming beach house!

Shells with Seagrass

Shells By The Sea

Red Angaria White Coral- I love the tiny painted shells with the blue background.  This is a great jumping off point for a beach house room- soft aqua, pale lavender, bright pink, yellow, white, and a touch of black.  It would also be fun to use this as a design running across a painted white floor.

Visit Harrison Howard’s website to see more of his work and to purchase: http://www.harrisonhoward.com/mainframe4.htm

xo,

S