Earth's Scribe : Artist Harry Orlyk
by Ross Rice
...Harry admits, “I love Van Gogh, but I’ve never had that
conscious deliberate need to emulate him. It’s turned out that
we have loved the same things. . . this is what brings our nature and
character closer together. His intensity with paint is tenfold to mine.” The
skill inherent in the powerful and confident brushwork is, however,
definitely worthy of comparison.
It’s not the easiest life, but Harry and Donna have raised
four children, and somehow managed. Harry is not at all a natural salesman,
and is glad to have people like Carrie Haddad (of Carrie Haddad Gallery
in Hudson) involved. Carrie first saw Harry’s work at Les Urbach’s
Center Gallery in Albany, and she said it was a “one-person show,
in a 10,000 square foot space! A line of paintings going along the
perimeter of this huge space, one was more beautiful than the next.
That’s when I started showing his work.”
“I admire his devotion. He’s an inspiration—I can’t
believe his dedication to his art. He does suffer as a result, because
he’s not pounding the pavement touting his accomplishments and getting more
shows. He just paints and paints and paints, and lives a modest life.
I’m totally in awe: he’s a purist, in the purest
sense of the word. He really lives for his art,” said Haddad.
As kind and considerate as Harry is, I sense the pre-painting tension
start to rise in him as it gets closer to sunset, with possibly usable
light on this blustery day. I think he describes himself best when
he says to me that he feels like “the Earth’s scribe
for a short time, for the few decades I’m around.” He
says goodbye, and quickly ducks into the studio to get his stuff
and go. I head southwest towards home, through Harry Orlyk country,
as an oddly beautiful shaft of light burns through the haze. No need
to take a photo….don’t worry, Harry’s got it.
CONTINUE...
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