design & art collide: Charley Harper

"When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe." - Charley Harper

Every single work I've seen by Charley Harper is well designed, carefully composed and beautifully colored. Some of his huge body of work is featured in Todd Oldham's book, "Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life". The book is beautiful (and massive)! Below is a biographical video Todd made shortly before Charley died a few years ago:



-Shelby