"Going Home"

oil

 

 "Farm Landscape"

oil

 

 

 

Dewey has been on his own since he was sixteen, going to work in a furniture factory during the fall of 1940. He spent three years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and served time on two different LST ships. The first of which was at Omaha Beech at eight o’clock the morning of the invasion. After the invasion, Dewey became part of the Communications Group of LST 56. After earning his third class Signalman rating, he was transferred to LST 370 where he became part of both the Communications and Navigational group.

After leaving the Navy, Dewey had a variety of jobs: The Columbia Recording Corp. As a “Go and get it” person, then on to work as a carpenter’s helper, plumber’s helper, bartender, then worked at Fisher Body, Allis Chalmers, Philip Pump and Tank where he spent his time as a spot welder and machine operator. The next five years were spent with the Pennsylvania Railroad as a brakeman, flagman and was promoted to conductor after the second year.

Dewey joined General Electric after leaving the railroad in 1953. He started there as a bench hand, then became a hand production welder for thirteen years, after wich he became an artist and illustrator at the age of 42, and spent the last twenty-two years in the Art department at GE before retiring in Feb. 1986.

Dewey is a strong believer that a painting should not only be interpreted through the artist’s special techniques, but should also reflect special qualities inherent in a particular subject. The painter should consciously utilize design when necessary to recreate the subject through composition and organization of the forms.

Dewey Harden’s paintings are mostly devoted to the interpretation of nature but he seldom paints on location. He works from quick simplified pencil sketches. The detail in Dewey’s paintings comes from the long years of subject matter. He paints in both oil and watercolor. He works in terms of masses then brings the feeling of detail to the surface with a strong drawing ability for the realistic character of his paintings.