Local Artist is Inspired by Demise of Wildlife's Natural Habitat

Harold Bascom is a Loganville, Ga. artist who finds his inspiration from nature, or more specifically changes to the natural environment as civilization encroaches.

"Currently I am working on the very last acrylic painting of a grouping I call my 'Petrified Bird Series' that has been inspired by looking at birds from my house's deck and thinking of how displaced they seem to be by the clearing of the forests by developers," Bascom said. "I put myself in the place of one bird being terrified by that first bulldozer that broke through the trees and wreaked havoc with the natural habitat. I presumed that I'd be scary-eyed terrified. This became the inspiration since all of the paintings have bug-eyed birds--a repeat image," he said, adding although it might be blowing his own trumpet, he believes his work would be appreciated by nature lovers and people who are environmentally friendly.

Bascom, who hails from Guyana, is also an award winning novelist and playwright. According to his website, Bascom moved to Georgia from New Jersey in 2010. That is when he began setting up a studio in an effort to rekindle his artistic career. Last year, he completed his Brownstone Series and began work on his Petrified Birds. His work was displayed in December in the Art Station Gallery of Stone Mountain.

Bascom lives in Loganville with his partner, Donnette (a cake decorator) and their son, Kevin. He has recently launched an art website with Fine Art Studio Online at www.haroldbascomfineart.com. His work can also be seen at www.harold-bascom.artiswebsites.com