Varvara Harmon, a Windham local originally hailing from Russia, is an internationally guilded painter who is now showing new work at Harvest Gold Gallery. An accomplished artist who works in watercolor, acrylic, and oils, Harmon’s art is a favorite of many who stop by Harvest Gold. After a long struggle with immigration and hard work to reach the US, Harmon is now a well respected member of the Maine art scene.

Born and raised in Volzshk, Russia, Harmon began painting in her early childhood, and was later a student at the Volzshk School of Art. After her first years of college, Harmon’s career goals turned briefly from the arts towards earth sciences. She continued on to the Moscow Geological Exploration Academy, where she earned a degree in Geological Studies.After graduation, Harmon worked as a geologist: work that brought her to some of Russia’s most spectacular wildernesses. It was during this time that Harmon returned to painting landscapes.

Harmon immigrated to the United States in 2001, where she moved to Windham, Maine. For Harmon the immigration process was long and difficult, and she worked tirelessly to make her dream of living in New England a reality. Attracted to the beautiful scenery and the way of life here in Maine, Harmon has been a very active member of the both the Maine art scene and the outdoors hiking and conservation communities.

From her initial photo, as seen above

Transformed into a beautiful painting

New England, especially Maine, is a place whose lands, lakes, coasts, and people have inspired many of Harmon’s recent paintings. While the majority of her work is done in oil, Harmon also is skilled in acrylic, watercolor, and pencil. And although landscapes are her favorite subject, Harmon also does portraits, commissioned works, geological illustrations, and perspective views of architectural designs. Harmon is an internationally praised and awarded artist, and is a member of the International Guild of Realism.

Come see Varvara work her magic and paint Plein Air, this Saturday July 28th from 10am-5pm at Harvest Gold Gallery!

The summer 2018 season has been going so well for Harvest Gold, that we here in the shop just wanted to write up a quick thank you to everyone who has been coming out to our shows and events and making them such fun events!

We had a fantastic turnout for the first Plein Air Painting Session of the summer! Although the clouds were gray and the wind held a wet chill, we had three artists stop by to paint. Kristen Dill, a Bridgtonite who works in bright colors and loose forms; Mary out of Fryeburg who works in watercolor and acrylics; and Renee, a Lovellite up for the summer! We love that several local artists stopped by to paint with us, and we encourage you to come out and paint too! We shall be hosting these plein air sessions every Saturday through August.

Then Harvest Gold Gallery’s 17th Annual Artist Reception and Open House went off without a hitch! The evening was a joyful affair with many artists and fans alike popping by to check out the summer collection. Artists that stopped by include Bill Housley, Ellen Nelson, Sandra Bell, Robin Taylor-Chiarello, Kimberly Crichton, Sandy Crowell, Ayn Male, among others!

We want to thank Severance Lodge Club for preparing for us several delicious hors-d’oeuvres, which were a big hit all night long! We also wanted to thank our staff who ran the behind-the-scenes all evening: these events could not go on without their faithful and hardworking support.

The second summer Plein Air Paint Painting Session happened on Saturday, July 21st, and we are thrilled that both Sandra Bell and Diane Scott stopped by to paint the day away! Warm and sunny, the conditions were perfect for the artists to capture golden honey tones in their artwork.

That same day was Art in the Park in Bridgton, and thanks to the good weather, great art, and friendly folks that wandered through the park all day long the show was one of our most successful to date. 

The next Plein Air Painting Session is this coming Saturday, and will be featuring Varvara Harmon! Stop by to see her work!

Harvest Gold is just filled with joy this summer as we have several new fantastic employees, lots of gorgeous new pieces of art, and friendly customers stopping in every day. We hope this good energy continues on for the rest of the year and we hope to send positive energy in your direction as well. Lots of love and thank you for your continued support!