Andrea Harper’s art is an expression of healing, for her as the artist, and for the viewer. Never receiving any formal art education, Harper expressed her creativity in quilting and hobbies. In her mid-30s, she started painting as part of therapy during recovery from an abusive marriage. What began as playing with colors to work through pain, has evolved over the past decade into an ever-more important expression for Harper. Although she experiments with other modes (oil, mixed media, etc), most work is done in acrylic or watercolor.

Her works are full of contrasts… of darkness and light, extravagant beauty and the grimy side of life, of intense colors balanced by subtle areas. Although there are works grouped into series, her acrylic and mixed media pieces display an overall theme of finding joy in the sorrow, beauty in scars, the cycle of life and death, and fully embracing all that is life.

Harper is a Registered Nurse, but is now disabled due to severe back problems from her years of caring for patients. She is the proud mother of a grown son, 3 bonus kids, and 2 rescued Siberian Husky mixes. Besides creating art, her hobbies include gardening, houseplants, and renovating her 100-year-old home. Her wife, Sarah, is behind the scenes in assisting with bookkeeping, woodworking for the custom frames, and all of the physical work of setting up tents and booth displays for local art markets; and always with encouragement, inspiration, and challenging Harper to put her art out into the world.

She is an active member of the Anderson Artist Guild, Tryon Painters and Sculpters, and the Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg. Find her on Instagram as @Harper.s_Art