Keith Harris is a Fine Artist working in Oils. His inspiration is the effect of man on the landscape, particularly in urban and industrial settings. Harris is attracted to brilliantly lit locations in Spain and to scenes that have a strong form. He strives to capture the inspiration with a sketch done on the spot; he prefers to use ink to avoid the temptation of using an eraser and to gain immediacy. Harris is guided by the need to retain the spontaneity of the original vision when he’s translating the inspiration into a painting. If necessary the artist reworks the sketches done on the spot, occasionally with the help of a few reference photos, to create a finished oil painting in the studio. Harris is an exhibiting member of Huddersfield Art Society, also a member of Leeds Fine Artists. He exhibits regularly in the Yorkshire region, and is an Invited Artist at Holmfirth ArtWeek.
Now, Harris increasingly works in oils directly on site to produce either a near-finished piece of art that he later completes in the studio or a finished and relatively small piece there and then. Most of his works in the studio are on fine canvas or calico glued to MDF board using hand made gesso and traditional rabbit-skin glue. Harris was originally trained and educated as an electrical engineer, and later as a software engineer. He started his career as a university lecturer teaching computing subjects and electrical engineering. He studied art on specialist short courses and at adult education classes, but otherwise he is a self-taught artist.
