Rose Picon, staff writer

Some talents are not discovered until later in life. Indeed, it wasn’t until she was in her late 40s that Wendy Harris found that she had a flair for working with pastels.

Harris grew up in Hartsville, PA. From her mother, she inherited an artist’s creativity and wanted to pursue her passion, but was denied the opportunity on her father’s orders. He wanted her to study something “career-oriented” to support herself after college, and he did not consider the arts such a choice.

In 1965, Harris enrolled at Syracuse University with a major in speech communications to please her father. She was unwilling to abandon art entirely, though, and decided to double major in art history and had a minor in photography. Harris then attended graduate school to continue her studies in speech communications. Seemingly unable to get enough of SU, she was later hired to work at the institution as the director of Corporate and Grant Programs.

As staff, she also had the perk of being able to take courses. In 1995, she took a non-credit course in pastel art. “I went gaga over pastels!” Harris confesses. “I found pastels to be the best minerals on the planet. I loved the directness of the medium – you don’t need water or anything else.”

Next to having the best minerals, Harris considers light to be the most important aspect of her work. As proof, she drives around with all of her equipment in her car, so she may unexpectedly stop to paint if the light is hitting the landscape just right. Naturally, she takes advantage of the scenery of upstate New York. “I love Upstate,” Harris shares. “I never have to go much further than half an hour from where I live to get a beautiful painting completed.” Her love for the outdoors is reflected in her paintings, as each one brilliantly depicts bucolic scenes and leaves the viewer in awe.

Harris’ artwork will be shown at Drumlins Restaurant for the rest of the season. You may also find her work, along with that of many other nifty artists, at the Szozda Gallery, at 501 W. Fayette Street.