Back to Peggys Biography

The Artist Life
An Interview with Peggy Harris

Kelley Petkun of the Artist's Club talks with Peggy Harris

I read the introductions to several of your books and it sounds as though you have always been involved with art.
My earliest memory of my interest in art was when I was three years old. I had drawn a little pink bunny and then I ran to find my mother to ask  if bunnies had toenails. She says that she had a short debate in her  mind about trying to explain the difference between claws and toenails. She opted to say bunnies had toenails and she still has that drawing of a bunny with large black toenails.

While I was growing up I was extraordinarily lucky in two aspects. First, my parents were very supportive of my artistic passion. The second was that I grew up in Kansas City - the home of the Kansas City  Institute of Art. I took a lot of classes there when I was a child. The Nelson Gallery of Art is also in Kansas City and it has one of the best Asian art collections in the country. I served as a docent when I was in my teens. What a wonderful environment for a young artist!

After high school, I went on to the University of Kansas. My mother was  becoming a bit concerned about my determination to make art my career.  She felt I needed to try to find something that was a bit more stable so  that I could have an independent income. I loved being in an academic setting. I ended up with a triple major in art history, Asian studies  and Chinese language. With all of those classes behind me, the logical step was to go on and get my PhD in art history. But, by then I knew I would miss the hands on experience of actually doing art. I continued  taking classes until I picked up almost all of the fine art hours I would have needed for a fine arts degree. But, just before that I  married Bob Sanders and we began a very interesting phase of our lives.

When I married Bob in 1965, he was a professional musician who opened  for people like Mac Davis and Helen Reddy. For a while I tried to juggle  art and raising a child while we were on the road. But, after I spilled an entire bottle of India ink on the carpet in our suite at the Ritz in Boston, I decided to put aside my art until we were at a more settled  place in our life.

When did you get to settle down?
In 1974, Bob was actually charting in the top forty with a song  that was popular in the country music circle. We traveled to Nashville to participate in Country Music Week. While we were there we decided it  was time to pick a place to make our home and we stayed in Nashville. Bob changed his career to national commercials.
I floundered around a bit once we settled down. I knew that I didn't want an 8 to 5 job but I had left my art career aside for so long that  it took me awhile to figure out a plan. I ended up building a business selling reproductions of my designs to the wholesale art industry. I employed five artists who would paint my designs. The most popular designs were of baby animals. In order to meet the production schedule, I began to develop methods for painting the animals as quickly as  possible.

How did you catch the interest of the Nashville PBS station?
Bob was involved with quite a lot of television production. One day I  mentioned that I had seen a couple of the painting programs on PBS and I  thought I could do as well with my technique for painting baby animals. Bob immediately contacted the local public television station. A representative from the station came by the house and looked at my work. I also showed him how I would demonstrate my technique. He took Bob  aside and asked if I would be able to talk. Bob said, "Try to get her to stop" Ha, very funny.
Anyway, Bob produced my television show. I think that I had absorbed much more than I realized while watching him work over the years because I was quite comfortable with the whole process. We also shot some  footage of baby animals to pad the show in case we had extra time. The  series was a great success and we ended up shooting sixty-five segments and they were shown all around the country on PBS stations.
My collection of class projects

When did you decide to move on to publishing?
The series started in 1995. Bob was pretty quick to suggest that we  investigate publishing a book. I told him that the biggest art book  publisher in the world was North Light. I knew about their book club so I got the name of the coordinator - Libby Fellerhoff. Bob sent her the tapes of my first series and the sales figures. They sat on Libby's desk  for nine months. We kept checking to see what was happening and she kept assuring us that she was working on getting something going. Towards the  end of those nine months, North Light published Lin Wellford's first  book, Painting Animals on Rocks. They were a little nervous about it being too "light" for their customers but that book's  astounding success opened their eyes to the possibilities of more books  like Lin's. During a board meeting, Creative Director, David Lewis, asked if anyone had any similar ideas for more books and Libby raised  her hand. That's how Painting Baby Animals with Peggy Harris was published in 1998. I'm proud to say, this book is now in its second printing so it appears that everyone was right.

Before the publication of Painting Baby Animals with Peggy Harris, had you had any experience with the decorative painting world?
No, because I had been so focused on my wholesale business and the PBS series. With the success of Lin's book, North Light had just become  aware of decorative painters because they were buying so many of Lin's  books. The first experience I had was when the SDP National Convention was held in Nashville after my first book had been published. David  asked me to attend and "Meet & Greet" at the North Light booth. It was such a wonderful experience! I loved meeting so many enthusiastic painters.
The convention also opened up a new world of opportunities for me. That's where I first met Priscilla Hauser who was instrumental in  convincing me to translate my technique from oil to acrylic. Personally,  I much preferred the decorative painting world because I discovered how fun it is to design for surfaces rather than painting on a canvas. It  has been such a good change for me.

How do you fit your work into your life?
Once we settled down in Nashville, I began to treat my art as a  full-time job. To me that meant working a 40-hour week and having a  space that was completely separate from my home. I had a commercial studio when I was running the wholesale business and I now have a  one-bedroom apartment about five blocks from my home. I use the  living/dining room as my studio and the bedroom as my office. I have found that this separation is necessary because I would work all the time if I couldn't walk away and close the door behind me. The only  absolute requirement for my "studio" apartment is that it be  in a wooded area. I enjoy being able to see animals while I am working.

How do you go about developing a book?
I always start with what I call a "star" project. Something I  made that gets my creative juices flowing. I made a wonderful piece that combines decoupage and my baby animals. I took it into Plaid, got their  approval and now I am working on more projects along that line. That's  how it works for me.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
I observe the world around me all the time. I think artists have a heightened sense of awareness that allows them to absorb their surroundings in great detail. Any children up through the age of three,  including my own grandchild, are inspirational because they have such delightful gestures as they explore their world. Perfect for giving my little bunnies their character.
I also keep hundreds of files. Some of them are massive. My bunny file,  for example, is about 10 inches thick. If you plan on making real  looking bunnies, or deviate into characters, you need to fully  understand the real thing first. When I start a bunny project, I will go through and choose dozens of clippings and photos and set them out so  that I can begin to get a feeling for the details.

How do you work out your designs?
I like to work with tracing paper for two reasons. First, it stands up to a lot of erasing. Second, I am more of a designer than an illustrator. I am more concerned about how the elements of the entire design of the project are put together than anything else. By using  tracing paper I can move elements of the scene around until I get what I like.

There is a fundamental misconception that people who are not artists suffer under. They believe that artists are"talented" and their ideas come to them complete and then they paint, sculpt or write without any sort of struggle. Wrong! We would have so many more artists  if those people would realize that a painting, piece of music or novel are each the result of a long process. I like to think of creativity as  the rejection of great ideas for the best idea. The difference between an artist and a non-artist is learning to enjoy and appreciate the process of constantly questioning what would happen if you tried this or tried that. The result is a pile of rejects and a final design that is "the best".

What has been your most memorable painting project?
In 1978, I painted an impressionistic portrait. I hadn't planned on it being representational of anyone but my hand seemed to move on its own  and I think it looks like my mother. It was a rather interesting  experience.
If you could paint anything for anyone, what would you paint?
I would paint something for my grandson. Something he would keep all his life.

If you could spend time with anyone from the past, who would you choose?
I would like to be able to observe some of my own ancestors in their own time and element. It would be so interesting to see their personalities  as they interacted with their world.
I would like to spend some time with Goya or John Singer Sargent. I  would have so many questions for them.
I love teaching!

What three words best describe you?
Open, creative and fun.

What good books have you read lately?
I have always loved reading. My method for choosing my reading material  is a bit unusual. Every couple of weeks I go to our local library and wander through the fiction and non-fiction section randomly choosing at least 12 to 20 books. I don't even look at them until I get home. Then I sit down and see what interesting things I "found". I may not read all of the books but the ones that do capture my attention are  certain to be ones I wouldn't have heard about on their own. I do have  some favorite authors like Roddy Doyle who wrote The Commitments.  I also enjoy Annie Dillard and Anne Morrow Lindburgh.

What about movies?
I could care less about the content of movies. The only thing that impresses me is how they look. My favorites are Days of Heaven and the Black Stallion because they are visually beautiful.

What is a food you love?
Fresh strawberries and fresh asparagus.

What is a favorite smell?
Lemons because it is such a fresh smell.

What would be your idea of a perfect painting vacation?
I would go away by myself to someplace overwhelming like the seaside,  mountains or the desert. I think it is important to the creative process  to feel yourself to be a part of the universe. And, to realize just how small you are in the scope of the world. After that sort of experience,  it is hard to take yourself so seriously and I find it to be quite refreshing. I can return to my work with a much lighter heart.

What advice would you give other painters?
You must keep seeking out ways to challenge your skills. If you don't, I can guarantee that you will become bored with painting and I don't care  how much you love it right now. I have seen many ladies stop painting because they became bored and all they really needed to do was take  themselves to a new place. Don't become confused. The joy you find in  painting does not come from the finished piece. It comes from the process and that process is what always needs to be changing.
None of these challenges need to be dramatic and scary. They can be as simple as changing the colors you use on a project or adapting the design to a different surface. Right there you took a step in a new  direction and you built up your confidence so that your next step may be a bit bigger. Before you know it, you will discover that you have much more creativity than you ever thought possible. Then things get really exciting.

Baked French Toast with Brown Sugar and Pecans
Contributed by Peggy Harris
This is a simple and delicious "do ahead" breakfast treat. You can freeze the baked "toasts" and microwave them later.  Perfect when done weeks in advance for Christmas morning.

1/2 loaf of French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 tablespoon light corn syrup maple syrup

Arrange bread slices, slightly overlapping , to fill bottom of buttered  9 x 13- inch baking dish. Combine eggs, half and half, vanilla, cinnamon  and nutmeg in medium bowl and mix well. Pour over bread slices. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove bread slices and place in a large  greased pan in single layer (do not overlap). Combine butter, sugar,  nuts and corn syrup in small bowl. Mix well and spread over bread. Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm, topped