Harold Joiner: A Walk in the Woods

Harold Joiner’s exhibition, A Walk in the Woods, will be on view October 1 – November 3, 2016 at Archway Gallery. The artist will be available to visit with guests during the opening reception October 1, 2016, from 5 – 8 p.m., with an artist’s talk at 6:30 p.m.

Harold Joiner finds solace and inspiration from solitary walks in the local woodlands. His paintings, inspired by what he has seen, seek to capture the essential spirit of their locations.

In his own words: “I am not seeking to record as much as I am seeking to explain.”

His is frequently an intimate view, in painterly detail and from a closer vantage point, rather than the traditional scenic landscape. A walk in the woods of the Houston area or the Texas Hill Country will likely bring one into contact with a body of water, so it is both water and trees that feature prominently in this exhibition. A painting might be inspired by the multi-colored bark of trees in a wetland, by an autumn branch lying on its side in a pond, or by the verticality of stark winter trees in a lowland swamp.

Joiner’s inspiration comes from the landscape of the Texas coastal plain. The lush trees harboring deep pockets of cooling shade beneath them and the numerous ponds with vibrant flora and curious small life forms provide endless sources of visual interest.

He says, “I am captivated by the reflections in the ponds and still waters here. Sometimes the reflections are crisp and static, but the occasional coastal breeze induces ripples that fragment the reflections or cut across them entirely. The flora are frequently vibrant in color, and floating on a dark silky pond, they give the impression of an abstract painting by Kandinsky or Miro – just little rounded shapes floating in the ether.”

The landscape of the Texas Hill Country is also a source of inspiration for Joiner but the elements of inspiration here are different. There are magnificent trees, of different shapes and sizes than those found on the coastal plain, and there are plenty of ponds, rivers and streams to provide wonder. Here moving water can be observed either rapidly rushing its way downstream, leaving little bubble trails behind, or slowly meandering towards a deep lake somewhere. Usually, that moving water is swirling around rocks, drawing lines of highlight and wavering reflections, or it is cascading over rocks and creating great splashes of whiteness.

Undaunted, Joiner says, “So much kinetic energy is here to capture, and to do it with paint is the challenge!”

The artist takes solitary walks in the woodlands around Houston, where he lives, and on the occasional visit to the Hill Country. These walks are an essential part of his spiritual practice. It is easy to see the trees, the water, and the rocks, but he feels there is always something else there – something intangible and mysterious and that cannot be seen.

“I sense it in the water, and I feel it emanate from the rocks. I hear it as a whisper when the wind rustles through the trees. I feel its caress, and I am calmed by it,” explained Joiner.

Joiner is an architect by education and was instrumental in the design of buildings and corporate interiors in Houston and other cities in Texas and the United States, as well as in cities abroad during his ten-year residence in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. During his time abroad, he traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Europe. After returning to Houston, he studied painting and photography at the Glassell School of the Museum of Fine Arts, at Art League Houston, and under private instructors.

Joiner has been featured in numerous solo and group shows in the Houston area and is a resident member of Archway Gallery. View his paintings at his website: (www.haroldjoiner.com).

Pictured: Fallen in Autumn.