Photography Prospectus

With a background in design, Anne Harkness gravitates towards subjects with a strong graphic image. Town scenes, chairs and telephone poles are among her favorites. Even in middle school, Harkness was pulling ads out of magazines to tape up on her doors. She liked clean crisp shapes and ads with witty, simple headlines.

An alumnus of the Atlanta College of Art, Harkness earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from The Maryland Institute, College of Art. This led to work with a small newspaper in Annapolis Md. Where she worked as an art director doing package and product design, logos, and hand lettering. 

“Great art captures something unexpected. Its beauty strikes at our very core. The artist gives something of themselves to the artwork and that is what calls to people. Great art is more than just technical skill; it's got to draw the viewer in, tell a story, or emote a feeling we want to keep experiencing.” Anne Harkness

She studied under painter, Curt Butler, and soon afterward he asked her to work for him as a studio manager and later as an instructor. He taught her to paint and also to teach. They now are each painting professionally in their respective studios.

As a contemporary artist, Anne looks for a unique point of view and often finds some unexpected beauty in what many would consider an ordinary or unattractive subject. She uses line in a unique way in her paintings. Artists that have influenced Harkness are Staprans, Diebenkorn, Degas, Japanese prints, Toulouse Lautrec, Klimpt, and Rutenburg.

In the past few years, her pieces have been in national and international shows, galleries and museums. She has been featured in American Art Collector Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, as well as in International Artist Magazine, where she won 2nd place in their Abstract/Experimental Art competition. She is represented by Providence Gallery and Vision Gallery, in NC. She is a member of American Women Artists and various other groups.

The elements Anne uses are line, shape, and color to support her design focus. The principles that interest her are balance, rhythm, and movement. “Cause, "we gotta’ dance!" Her hope is that you will never tire of your travels through her paintings.