Harmer explains that typically the impetus and inspiration for his work lies in the many depictions of landscape and architecture in art, cinema and television. However, his latest body of work has begun to reflect his interest in British landscape painters; Nash, Ravilious, Hitchens and Piper. 
 
These found images often establish a starting point for a piece. However, as Harmer points out “paint is a responsive medium and the completed painting may deviate considerably from the original source, occasionally tending toward abstraction”. He says, “for me, an open-ended and free approach is what makes painting such an exciting and compelling creative project”.