Pool party, lemonade, Sarah, 2021, acrylic, oil, markers, charcoal on canvas, 46 x 61cm
Above all, Stef Harris’s work is about expression over storytelling. The pursuit of capturing and conveying mood and emotion over narrative.
Driven by intuition, a merging of memory and feeling, her marks and brushstrokes are informed by sensory moments from the past that are actively expressed in the present.
From the lively, vibrant and animated pieces with expressive, intricate flicks, dabs and scrawls that appear to skip and leap across the canvas, to the expansive, painterly, richly saturated works, where colour and gesture sensuously merge and swell culminating in a feeling of crescendo.
Her works conjure a diverse mixture of sensations – some calm and gentle creating an almost meditative feeling, others warm, playful, energetic and excitable.
Each work appears to possess and convey its own unique identity, exuding their own personality complete with quirks and presence. As some greet you with the warmth and familiarity of a family member, others stir the sense of passion and intensity experienced with a new lover or evoke the excitement and energy of catching up with a friend not seen in a while.