Today we’d like to introduce you to Dean Harring.
Dean, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Boston, the first of seven children. My parents were both artists (they met at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston) so they frequently kept us occupied at home with drawing and painting lessons. I enjoyed drawing, and kept at it for years, but I didn’t start painting with watercolors until I was close to retirement (I spent my entire 40 year career in Financial Services).
Watercolor techniques are tricky and the medium can be frustrating and unforgiving, particularly for beginners, so I attended watercolor workshops and clinics and lessons until I got comfortable working with them.
An instructor told me one time to study a subject carefully before beginning. “If you can’t see it, you can’t draw it, and if you can’t draw it, you can’t paint it” he would say. Drawing was never a problem for me, but I gradually learned that seeing and recognizing differences in color, value and tone is critical to creating realistic paintings.
In the past twenty years I’ve painted more than a thousand watercolors, and one thing I realized early on was that I really enjoyed painting animals. Maybe it’s because I like animals (I’ll walk across the street to say hello to a dog who is out for a walk) and I tend to “see” animals quite well, which makes it easier for me to paint them. So for many years my focus has been on painting realistic watercolor portraits of special animals, mostly dogs and cats, although subjects have also included goats, horses, cows, penguins, polar bears, songbirds, and a rooster.
I operate out of a small studio in State College, Pennsylvania, but I sell paintings nationally. While most of the paintings I do are commissioned by people who want a keepsake or memorial portrait of an animal that is special to them, I also donate portrait certificates to animal welfare organizations each year to help them raise funds.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not smooth, but enjoyable. Mastering something as difficult as painting with watercolors can be exasperating and time consuming, but I think it has been worth the effort.
Marketing is challenging. Most of the work I get is from word of mouth referrals, or repeat business.
Every portrait I do is carefully hand-sketched (using client photos as reference) and painted with premium artist-grade paints on heavyweight watercolor paper to create a unique work of art. The market for such custom work may be shifting, however. Lately, I have seen on-line competitors offering “watercolor portraits from your photo” at very low prices, but often there is no actual watercolor painting involved. They take a photo, use an artificial intelligence editing tool to filter it so it looks like a watercolor painting, produce a giclee print on watercolor paper, and send it to the customer.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in commissioned, custom work, drawing and painting realistic keepsake and memorial watercolor portraits of special animals. I don’t use AI tools or photo editing applications to create portraits. My portraits are hand-sketched (using client photos as reference) and hand-painted, and I do my best to capture the look and personality of the animal. I am always proud when I ship a finished portrait to a client, and happy when I hear how pleased they were with the piece. I keep my prices low to help make custom watercolor portraits accessible to more people. I intend to keep painting watercolors for as long as I am able.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
One of my favorite books is The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey. I am also a fan of John Singer Sargent’s watercolor portrait work.
Pricing:
- Easier to see at https://www.harringwatercolors.com/order
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.harringwatercolors.com/
- Other: https://www.harringwatercolors.com/about-and-contact
