Molly Hargarten Art
Watercolor & Oil Artist based in Lafayette, Colorado
About
Molly Hargarten
Greetings and Salutations! Thanks for checking out my website and paintings. I hope you enjoy them.
Please take your time and browse….. I have added some new information! I have started painting with oils and have included images on this site…AND…I have started to teach watercolor classes. I am teaching at pARTiculars, through Lifelong Learning in Boulder and will start at the Art Underground in Louisville the first of the year.
Here’s some info about how I started painting…..I was fortunate to discover my painting ability in 1999. I was visiting my family and my Mother gave me my first lesson. I painted a ‘flying snail’ (which was meant to be a butterfly) and we still laugh about the result.
Red Chilies
I have learned to paint from many talented and gifted artists. They include Jim Pedersen, Roger Mordhorst, Nyla Whitmore, Alexy Pendle, Barbara Kornfeld, Joe Fettingis, John Taft, Frank Francese and Chuck Ceraso.
To me, painting is like mashed potatoes; comforting, simple and earthy. When I apply pure pigment to white paper, I am fed. Contentment, groundedness and peace come to me, as with any good comfort food. I also get pleasure from painting simplified, earthy and authentic subjects found in nature and the world around me.
When I paint, I liken it to a runner’s path…there have been uphill struggles, easy down hill portions and a sense of satisfaction when the task is completed. I strive to enjoy and embrace both the ease and struggles and hold close these words from the Buddhist Lojong teaching which say “Always maintain only a joyful mind.” To me, this means, learn from each situation, whether it is positive or negative, and use these experiences to wake up and see the world around you with a happy, open mind. I hope that my work portrays the happiness, joy and fun that I experience from life.
I often hear that when people look at my work, they experience a tug at their own hearts. My hope is that they will witness my heart felt connection with nature and the world around me…to feel the warmth and spirituality that I experience, to fully notice and enjoy my love of color.
- Molly Hargarten