Jo Harrison is an interpretative realist painter. “I paint to experience the beauty of nature more deeply. I hope to create an exchange, a moment of give and take.”

Inspired by John Muir, Jo partakes in the invitation of “a tree as it becomes a cathedral.” She paints the gesture of light - the moment when light and shadow become shape, moving back and forth in the experience. Her marks evoke dance, transformation and spirit. Jo uses palette knives and brushes, but her favorite is a guilder’s Instacoll tool with which she scraps and draws into the paint, resulting in works that are rich in color, energetic and joyful.

Deeply inspired by the poetry of Hafiz, Rilke, and Mary Oliver, Jo focuses on our humanity within the natural world. Her mark is a specifically human gesture, meant to hold a place for what captures our attention. 

An art historian, art collector, and former gallery director, Jo became a working studio artist in 2019. She is grateful for the artistic communities of Provincetown, and coaching she receives from artists Stanley Belen, Pete Hocking, and John MacDonald. Jo lives in Williamstown, MA, with a studio at the North Adams mill space Greylock Works.

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