Collection: Lee Harrelson

Lee Rogers Harrelson is from Birmingham, AL. He retired in 2021 after over 35 years of commercial photography, closing his studio in Homewood.

As photography became more commerce and less art, oil painting began as therapy in 1991. Moving into acrylic and using alternative application as the driving force, eventually using copper pipe to frame acrylic on masonite panels in 2001.

2021 marked a new direction as a complete surprise! It all started with finding a piece of copper sheet and remembering how patina can make intricate colors on this ancient material. Learning metal techniques and experimenting with heat, smoke, and chemicals on different metals to create pieces that depict a scene or create a sense of place or mood in an environment.

Ever evolving, the process is more important than the finished piece. The experience of creating, the place it takes the mind for hours at a time, the feel of the tools in the hand -- all of these things are the ties that bind a single artist together. These are the things to strive for.

All copper and steel pieces are created using heat, flame, smoke, and chemical reaction.