Terry Harrison

 

Terry always loved painting and drawing, but when he was a lad at school in Norfolk, art was never considered a career subject and it was certainly not encouraged. However, in 1965 his family moved to Farnborough and his new art teacher was brilliant. At the age of 15 he passed both O-Level and A-Level Art, then went on to Farnham Art School.

Leaving college, his first career was in graphics and he worked for a while in London, then as an illustrator for Yellow Pages. He still continued to paint during evenings and weekends, developing his own painting techniques. Terry very soon began to realise that he couldn’t keep up with the demand for his paintings, so in 1984 he took the decision to give up the day job and paint full time. This was the best decision he ever made – he always had a full schedule of exhibitions, private commissions, demonstrations and workshops.

Terry was inspired by Constable and Turner and his favourite subject was the traditional landscape, using watercolour or acrylic as his main medium. He began using oils at Art School, then moved on to acrylics and eventually watercolour.

In 1989 he started his own Fine Art print publishing company which had over 150 images including landscapes, cricket and golf scenes, sold in shops and galleries throughout the world. His paintings continue to be much in demand in both the original and printed forms. He has works in public and private collections throughout the USA, Europe and Japan.

In 1996 Terry was honoured to win the prestigious Fine Art Guild award for the 'Best Up and Coming Artist'

In 2000 Gibsons Games published Terry's first jigsaw puzzle, 'Heart of the Village'. Over the years he worked alongside Gibson's, providing a whole raft of paintings that gave puzzlers sufficient detail to makes a really good jigsaw while at the same time maintaining his artistic integrity. The last image he painted for Gibson's was of Edinburgh Castle, and the puzzle is due for publication in Autumn 2017.

In 2001 his first book 'Brush with Watercolour' was published by Search Press. It proved to be a major success and was reprinted so many times that it sold over 175,000 copies and is one of the best-selling watercolour books ever. In 2004 'Brush with Acrylics' was published, repeating the success of the first book, not just in the United Kingdom but worldwide. Terry went on to write 25 more books.

In 1990 he began to develop his unique range of brushes, beginning with the now famous Fan Gogh brush. This expanded into quite a range of speciality brushes, unique to Terry. The logical progression of this was to create teaching DVDs, many of which you can now see on the Painting and Drawing Channel on SKY TV. He also realised that there was a lack suitable paints on the market, so he developed his Three Greens, Autumn Shades and the colours Shadow, Bluebell and Tarmac in Artists’ Watercolour, all created to help make painting easier for everyone. He also developed a range of Artists’ Acrylic paints which have proved just as popular as the watercolour range.

In 2006 Terry moved to the Cotswolds, living in the beautiful village of Bourton-on-the-Water with his wife Fiona Peart. They were married there in 2011. Terry travelled up and down the country demonstrating to art societies and clubs as well as various art shows. He taught workshops and holidays throughout the UK and also in the USA and South Korea.

Terry was still producing books and video tutorials with as much generosity and enthusiasm as ever when he became ill in spring 2017. Sadly he lost his short battle with cancer and died in June. He will finally rest in Bourton-on-the-Water, a place he loved. He will live on in the memories of those who loved him and the countless artists he inspired.