Abandoned Gas Station Rescued as Cozy Art Studio

When Healdsburg Patch did a earlier this year on the old 76 gas station at Healdsburg Avenue and Piper Street, commenters said they thought it should become everything from a pizza restaurant to a bowling alley to a free parking lot.

No one suggested it be turned into a private art studio. But that's exactly what has happened.

Alexander Harris, co-proprietor -- with his artist dad Marc Harris -- of the The Harris Gallery in downtown Healdsburg, has leased the abandoned gas station and surrounding lot for use as a private sculpture studio and storage location.

"I needed the extra space," said Harris, 28, a native resident of Geyserville who graduated from Geyserville High School in 2001.

Harris, who plans to use the 1,200-square-foot former gas station primarily for his sculpture operations, said he also needed a more accessible place for vendors who help him with molding and casting in bronze at locations in Sebastopol and Berkeley -- and for models who pose for his work.

His current sculpture studio, situated up a dirt road in Geyserville, is not easily accessible, he said.

"It will be nice to be able to get people there (to the studio) easily,"  said Harris, who sometimes uses the first name spelling of A3L3XZAND3R.

Harris said he will install a fence around the property to keep out vandals and to prevent people from driving and parking on the lot. He does not plan to renovate the building itself because it will not be open to the public and it's current state is perfect for the rigors of sculpture work, he said.

"It's a good, funky spot," Harris said. Landlord for the property is a local investment group who declined to be identified.

Harris, who said he paints at all hours of the day and night and lives and breathes the creative process, appears to be at the leading edge of young Sonoma County artists.

In addition to the Healdsburg gallery, Harris's work is on display at Chloe Fine Arts Gallery in San Francisco, which also represents him to private art collectors internationally.

Last month, his San Francisco reps arranged a showing of his work in Healdsburg to private collectors who flew in for a week of wine tasting and art viewing.

"I sell a lot of work, so I have to produce a lot of work," said Harris, who sometimes shows with other artists who are two or three times his age.

"People I show with are established artists," he said. "It's pretty humbling."

His paintings span many different styles, leaning toward Impressionism but also including abstract, conceptual and figurative realism.

"I only paint from my imagination," said Harris when asked the location that inspired a given landscape in his paintings.

Harris and his father have had the downtown Healdsburg gallery for four years. The Harris Gallery is a member of Healdsburg Galleries Group, a new collective of 22 Healdsburg art galleries that runs a successful event with show openings, food and wine.

Harris said he expects to start using the new studio later this summer.