“My name is Harrison, I’m from San Francisco, and I do a lot of visual art, design, and photography.”
Harrison Gable is a 20 year old artist with a wide range of talents including drawing, painting, design, and photography. Despite the variety of mediums he works with, most of Harrison’s pieces are connected by a common theme of nostalgia. “My art is a culmination of things I’ve seen from my childhood ‘til now, just images that have stuck with me throughout my entire life.” A look through Harrison’s portfolio reveals illustrations of the city he grew up in, as well as activities he’s enjoyed since childhood, like playing basketball and watching cartoons.
“I think the first piece I was really proud of making was the lone ranger with the gun one. I had been trying to work with cartoon images and creating a cartoon character that was pretty coherent, and it really rooted from just watching cartoons one summer. It’s a piece I’m super proud of because I feel like it combined my childhood with where I was at in the moment.” This work is one of many done by Harrison on the unconventional medium of cardboard. As an artist that doesn’t have unlimited access to canvases, he explained the importance of being able to work with what’s available. Harrison also enjoys incorporating other non-traditional materials, like blue painters tape, in his pieces because of the playful look it adds.
Harrison has always loved drawing and expressing himself visually, but it wasn’t until his late teens that he began to devote considerable time to making art. Upon starting school at Vassar College in Upstate New York, and pursuing a minor in Studio Art, Harrison was exposed to new artistic techniques and opportunities. Recently, he took a class in printmaking and learned how to use linoleum and wood blocks to print designs on paper. For the Shooting Star piece pictured above, Harrison explained “The text on that piece I carved out of wood, and then for the middle part I took a linoleum block and carved a design out of that. And then I printed them two separate times on the same piece of paper.” Harrison is grateful for the ability to learn new technical skills in college, and says the diversity of topics covered in a liberal arts education provides him with continual creative inspiration.
And when he’s not drawing, painting, or printing, Harrison combines his creativity with technology to make cool digital art. From concert flyers to a t-shirt for Playboi Carti’s producer, Harrison has proved skillful with photoshop and design.
Since COVID-19 and quarantine has prompted Harrison to temporarily move back to San Francisco, he’s been enjoying spending time in his hometown with his family. Luckily for him, his family members are some of his biggest supporters who have always encouraged his artistic endeavors. Returning home has already piqued the nostalgia Harrison is so fond of capturing, and he looks forward to using this time to continue creating amazing art.
