May 12, 2020

Meet Marshall Harris

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marshall Harris.

Marshall, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Well, to start with I think I must be honest and explain that I am an artist. That is someone who makes art. It’s that stuff that seems extraneous to many although as human beings we can’t seem to live without it. Although I have been an artist all of my life, for much of it, I pretended that I was just like everyone else. I pushed being artistic into the closet or into my background, like a bad habit or a hobby. In high school I experimented with being an artist but it was the early 70-’s in Texas and so although my close friends knew I was “artistic”, most of my external persona was encapsulated in being a jock. So I played football in high school and college. I guess I was pretty good. After graduating for college – TCU 1979 with a BFA, I got drafted by the NFL 1979 by the New York Jets. I moved to Cleveland Ohio in 1980 where I played professional football for the Cleveland Browns from 80-83. We were called the Kardiak kids for our skill at winning games in the last 2 minutes. I then played for the New England Patriots for the remainder of the 1983 season and then played for Donald Trumps New Jersey Generals in 84-85. Afterwards I retired – well the Generals went bankrupt – I returned and remained in Cleveland for 15 years. Then I moved to Boston for another 15 where I began as the exhibits design manager for the New England Aquarium. While in Boston, I began my own company and was involved in marketing and advertising, exhibition development and design and strategic marketing development. I wound up spending 30+ years in the North East. All of that time I danced around the edges of being an Artist but never really embraced my private passion. I dressed up like a normal person during the day and did creative things professionally, marketing, advertising etc, but it was all very acceptable. At home I dressed and acted like an artist. I had artist friends and gave artist parties. I even had sex with artists and honey, art sex is some of the best. But I did almost no studio art for almost 30 years.

In 2001, I was in New York for business on 9/11 and our world changed and I decided I didn’t want to be unfulfilled any longer. In 2007, I began graduate school at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where they explained that it was okay and natural to be artistic. In 2010, I received my MFA in sculpture. I moved back to Fort Worth in order to be closer to my parents and to reinvent myself. I began my studio practice in 2010 using my parents formal living room (they live in a moderately sized 1960’s designed home and of course they have a living room that is only used for holiday dinners and birthdays). I began creating extraordinarily detailed photo-realistic graphite on Mylar drawings on many subjects. Naked people, cat skulls, vegetables. But the one subject I thought would be popular here in Fort Worth were historic western saddles. I mean why wouldn’t something as iconic as a western saddle be popular in a town swimming in horse culture and rodeo exhibitions? In 2010 I was AN ARTIST.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Easy Path? Well – I have been very fortunate that my drawings seem to be popular and my art practice gained some early traction I think because I was new to town and “different”. But the art market is extraordinarily subjective and very trendy. What is todays art-star is tomorrows used-to-be. I hope I’m neither. There are significant struggles? Being a professional full-time artist is not for the faint of heart or indecisive of conviction. As a professional artist, most of us have no deadlines or motivations other than the ones you create for yourself. You have no salary, you have no on-the-job training, no benefits package or 401K retirement plan and no HR department to complain to if you don’t like who you are working with. Everyday can be a vacation day but we seldom take one because if we aren’t making art, we aren’t making money. You usually work alone, which for me as a professional introvert and during the Covid-19 thing, is just fine. But it is lonely. You never know if what you are making will ever be shown and if it is, the chances of it selling are all circumstantial. You get up, go into your studio and create things that you have no idea if anyone will like. And to make it more challenging, I create very big, extraordinarily detailed drawings that sometimes require 4-5 months to complete making them extremely high risk investments on my part. I hope that someone will allow me to hang that one-of-a-kind work of art and I hope that someone with a propensity to like beautiful things will buy my work. Sometimes it works out. Many times it doesn’t. Everyday is a self-driven get-into-the-studio and draw your ass off because those artworks aren’t going to draw themselves young man. Some days are joyful because you accomplish something extraordinary. Other days you wonder what the hell were you thinking that you could ever make a living making art. Most days it balancing act between inspiration and insanity. Other days it’s sublime.

Please tell us more about your art.
My art is big-in-scale hyper-realism and executed in graphite on Mylar. That’s pencil on a synthetic medium. The end product looks like a photograph. Most works average 60” x 60” or bigger. One drawing I’ve done was 30 feet long. I choose subject matter with texture and history. The more wrinkled, blemished or decorated the subject is, the more of a challenge it is for me to draw. The human body is an amazing subject but then so is a historic western saddle. It’s the subject, the texture, the composition and the stark black and white presentation, I think, that make my works unique.

What makes my art different is my personal style and commitment to making something extraordinary for the serious collector. My works are often thought to be photographs until the viewer looks closely enough to see that it is not. The combination of realism and composition makes for a significant “wow” factor and many of my works have become visual anchor points in private collections. My next Solo show, when ever we get out of this pandemic thingy, is titled “Well that’s something you don’t see everyday!” Unusual works of art by Marshall Harris and the artist formally known as Pooty. (Pooty was my baby knick name. I asked my parents why. They responded- “Isn’t it apparent?”)

Metaphorically I equate making art to making highly specialized bird seed. My “practice” makes one seed at a time and each seed is extraordinarily unique. No two are alike. That one seed is created for one uniquely qualified and inquisitive bird, but I ain’t gotta clue where the bird lives or when or if the bird might stop by. I create the seed and place it out there for the many birds to examine and sometimes that one special bird is interested and motivated. When that beautiful bird enjoys that seed I hope it makes them remember that they can fly. So I specialize in unique only-one-in-the-world-like-it artistically exhilarating bird seed. But you have to see the seed to understand the seed.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance. But, if you are an artist, being a little crazy helps.

Contact Info:

Address: 3815 Crestline Rd
Fort Worth, TX 76107
Website: www.marshallkharris.com
Phone: 8177095444
Email: marshallk222@mac.com
Instagram: Marshallkharrisart

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