SAXTONS RIVER — Main Street Arts will host an exhibit of the work of artist Shane Harris from Sept. 2 to Oct. 10, with an opening reception Thursday, Sept. 8, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Entitled “Outdoor Perspectives,” the exhibit is a showcase of Harris' deep connection to the outdoor world of southeastern Vermont in all its seasons, according to a news release.
By day an officer with the Bellows Falls Police Department, Harris spends his off hours by a brook, at the edge of a field, or deep in the forest capturing the spot's ephemeral light and changing colors in watercolor.
“Since childhood, I've always been involved with art, in one form or another,” Harris says. “From drawing, painting, sculpture, and even wood turning, I have always centered around creating art.”
“For the past 27 years, I've shared my love for art with my profession as a police officer,” he adds, and “even though each of these pursuits can be polar opposites, I couldn't imagine doing one without the other.”
He says he finds a symbiosis between the rigidity and stress of law enforcement that provides a path for looseness and creative clarity for painting, while the freedom and tangibility of emotion that is fostered while creating art enables a sensitive and delicate approach when policing.
“From the subtleties of morning light falling across new snow to the harshness of a shadow that can define a rock,” he says, “I am drawn to the beauty of nature's light.”