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View Harris' Awards
HARRIS HOLT has deep roots in North Carolina. Charlotte
has been his home since 1967, but his early childhood was
spent in the slow-paced, small town of Laurinburg. Harris
is descended from Michael Holt, a German immigrant who came
to America in the late 1600’s as an indentured servant
to the governor of Virginia. He is largely responsible for
North Carolina's textile milling legacy, which he began when
he settled in Alamance County in the early-1700’s.
Harris's love for the South comes from his father's long-time
roots in North Carolina, but New England, his mother's family's
home for three generations, is important to him as well. He
was actually born in Northhampton, Massachusetts where his
mother and father lived briefly, before returning to North
Carolina. He has a sincere appreciation for the beauty of
both of these beautiful regions of the country.
As a youngster, Harris's aptitude for drawing and painting
was nurtured and encouraged by his parents and teachers. As
a teen, he studied with Al Fincher, a renowned watercolor
artist and teacher. Except for these studies and a degree
in commercial art and advertising design, Harris is self-taught;
an eye for creative composition and attention to perspective
and detail are among his greatest assets. He also has a gift
for finding incredible interest and depth in the everyday
objects most of us overlook. His love of the natural beauty
of the earth shows through in his paintings of land, sea and
sky.
His paintings offer diversity of subject matter, featuring
landscapes, coastal scenes, mountains and pastorals, historic
architecture, and interesting people. Most of Harris's paintings
focus on the natural beauty of the earth and the picturesque
scenery of North and South Carolina, but he also paints subject
matter from his travels throughout the US.
In a recent feature magazine article, journalist LouAnn Lamb
says, "Whether the subject is a mountain view or a craggy
face, Harris Holt's paintings are both honest and tender.
His realistic technique shows enormous talent and extreme
discipline, but something in the colors whispers that this
artist transfers the love and support he has received into
each brush stroke given to paper."
Working in transparent watercolor, Harris has mastered a
dry brush technique that enables him to paint with a unique
richness of color and a control and clarity rarely seen in
watercolors. "My style requires complete control of water
and pigment. Watercolors can be very unforgiving, but when
the creativity flows, they yield a touch of magic. Their translucence
allows me to engage the viewer in the painting. My goal is
to evoke a specific feeling within each viewer so they are
participants in my art," Harris says. " I hope to
entice people into the scene, to create a stirring in the
heart for the beauty of our surroundings, both touched and
untouched by human existence."
Since 1995, Harris has ventured into oil painting, applying
his rich, detailed, unique style to canvas. His technique
has translated beautifully to oils; his remarkable clarity
and colors draw the viewer into each painting. He has also
done some sculpting, the results of which reflect his incredible
versatility and expertise in all artistic venues.
Offering two to four paintings each year as limited edition
prints, Harris has begun to explore the new world of Gicleé
(Iris) printing, a state-of-the-art process that takes advantage
of new technology to offer improved color, clarity and substrate
when producing prints.
He also has offered a small number of open edition prints,
color and pen & ink,, at the request of fine gift shops
and collectors. These are always new images, as Harris has
a commitment to the integrity of printing each image just
once. He remains self-published by choice, so that he can
participate fully in the choosing, production and distribution
of each of his prints.
In addition to painting the scenes that he comes upon, Harris
is also a watercolorist for Historic Charlotte, painting historically
accurate paintings of important southern landmarks of the
past. Harris also makes art presentations to organizations
and in schools, is a frequent guest lecturer about his art
and North Carolina history, and teaches watercolor classes
and workshops. His workshops have taken him as far as Alabama,
and in January 2000, he gave a mini-workshop for Our State
Magazine readers at the Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC.
Harris lives, works and plays in Charlotte with his wife,
Lyn, and his daughters, Jamie and Lauren. In addition to painting,
Harris enjoys traveling with the family to far-flung places
and to all of the corners of North Carolina, in search of
beautiful places to paint. He is also a doting father who
attends his teen and pre-teen daughters' soccer games, school
activities and choir performances. He and Lyn coach both Jamie
and Lauren's Odyssey of the Mind teams. An active member of
Christ Episcopal Church, he recently built a manger and prayer
candle stand for use in Advent activities at the church! His
hobbies include building anything and everything, including
a three-man sea kayak. When there's time (he would say, "when
Lyn's not working him to death!), he is remodeling their 50+
year old home!
Harris and Lyn enjoy working together and are celebrating
the Harris Holt Gallery's tenth anniversary at their Dilworth
location, which they operate together with framers, Belinda
Reynolds and JoAnn Harashima.
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HARRIS' AWARDS & HONORS
SELECTED JURIED SHOWS (*Award Received)
*ANNAPOLIS ART FESTIVAL, Annapolis, Maryland.
*ART IN THE PARK, Richmond, Virginia.
*CHATHAM ARTS FESTIVAL Chatham, Massachusetts.
*FESTIVAL IN THE PARK, Charlotte, North Carolina.
LAS OLAS ART FESTIVAL, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
*MYSTIC OUTDOOR ART FESTIVAL, Mystic, Connecticut PARK CITY
ARTS FESTIVAL, Park City, Utah. SPRINGFEST, Charlotte, North
Carolina.
STREETFAIR, Columbus, Ohio.
ADDITIONAL AWARDS AND HONORS
Director's Award (Best in Show) & Honorable Mention.
Festival in the Park, Charlotte, North Carolina. 1997.
Director's Award (Best in Show). Festival in the Park, Charlotte,
North Carolina. 1996.
First Place, Watercolor. Cedar Key Art Festival, Cedar Key,
Florida. 1990.
Best in Two Dimensional Media. Festival For All, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. 1989.
Watercolor commissioned as official festival poster by Maitland
Arts Festival, Rotary Club of Maitland, Florida. 1989.
Beat in Show. Day in the Park, High Point Arts Commission,
High Point, NC. 1987.
Watercolor commissioned for corporate Christmas card by Wachovia
Bank, Winston-Salem, NC. 1990.
Cover art commissioned for or used by The North Carolina Heating
&Air Conditioning News, The State Magazine (NC), The Orlando
Sentinel (FL) newspaper, and Florida Tourism Magazine
Awarded over 155 Purchase Awards in fifteen years of participating
in major art festivals and exhibitions.
SELECTED CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Alltel, Inc., Little Rock, Arkansas.
Charlotte Pipe & Foundry, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina.
First Union National Bank, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Hatteras Yacht Company, High Point, North Carolina.
John Hancock Company of South Florida, Miami, Florida.
Merrill Lynch, offices in North Carolina, South Carolina,
Virginia and West Virginia.
NationsBank, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Northern Hospital of Surry County, Mount Airy, North Carolina.
LECTURE/TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Guest Speaker, Charlotte Artist Guild, 1997.
Watercolor Instructor, The Harris Holt Gallery, Charlotte,
NC. 1996 present.
Watercolor Instructor, Queens College Continuing Education,
Charlotte, NC. 1994-1995.
Guest Lecturer and Panelist, North Carolina Watercolor Society
Annual Meeting. 1989.
Guest Lecturer, Charlotte Watercolor Society. 1989.
FEATURE ARTICLES
Clauci Hodges, Photograph Inspires Painting, The Washington
Daily News, Sept., 1997.
LouAnn Lamb, "Chance Encounter at Festival in the Park
Inspired Career," Citi Magazine, August, 1997.
Steve Huffman, "Artist Preserves Bridge," High Point
Enterprise, March, 1996.
Angela Terez, "Amazing Feats With Watercolor," The
State, February, 1992.
Laura K. Beal, "Poster Artist Strives to Bring Viewer
into Paintings," Orlando Sentinel, October, 1990.
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