Artist, Tim Howe, leads a life that most could only dream of "traveling to the world's most beautiful locales and then capturing nature's beauty through his art." Howe has done what few have dared. After establishing a successful advertising and graphic design firm, he gave it all up to pursue his true passions in life: painting and traveling.
Born in a country where awesome beauty abounds, Tim was surrounded by the vastness and overwhelming majesty of New Zealand's landscape. It is here where he was first inspired to express nature's limitless splendor through his art.
Howe graduated from the Wellington School of Design, in Wellington, New Zealand, studying a variety of disciplines including fine art, illustration, graphic design, photography and printmaking, all of which are at times incorporated into Tim's work. After graduation, Howe immigrated to the United States and established his design studio in San Diego, CA. However, after traveling throughout the United States and Europe it became apparent that in order to capture the beauty he experienced, his love of nature and art were to become irrevocably intertwined.
The turning point in Tim's career was the fulfillment of his desire to paint in the light and colours of the Mediterranean "to paint and study on the same soil as the great masters of the late 19th century. Traveling throughout Spain, France and Italy, Howe was able to experience the change of the landscapes throughout every season" the poppies fields of spring, the lavender and wheat fields of summer and the vineyards that became a running commentary of colour for each of the four seasons. Howe became so enamored with the regions extending from the mountains of Provence, to the hills of Tuscany and to the coast of the Mediterranean, that he established a studio in Barcelona, Spain.
Howe's latest landscapes, inspired by his most recent two-year sojourn to Vancouver Island, New Zealand and most recently Seattle, reflect his unique perspective of nature. For Tim, there are no boundaries between Impressionism and Abstraction. The result is a varied body of work that skillfully blends nature between the two seemingly opposing viewpoints.
Howe's current works, a contemporary interpretation of landscapes, incorporate elements of nature with a dramatic use of colour and texturing capturing his subject matter with a unique flair. With vivid accents and lively vigorous brushstrokes Howe continues his search for new images of familiar subjects.
"As a landscape artist, I am naturally inspired to paint by what I see in nature. Since I come from a strong graphic design background, I tend to draw upon this experience in creating my paintings. I accomplish this by utilizing the disciplines of both impressionism and abstraction."
I'm predisposed to thinking in terms of images as either positive or negative shapes, while isolating the most important colours. I see this as a more graphic and more contemporary way of painting. I find myself using nature's elements, along with its' shapes and images, and subsequently interpreting them on canvas in a bolder, more graphic way at times utilizing exaggerated forms and colours for maximum effect.
Having art surround us, as does nature, is crucial to all of our lives. It's important to me that art remain an equalizer in society "available to all, exclusive to none."
Howe is an ambitious painter who will never limit his subject matter, his techniques, nor his stylistic development. This philosophy, along with his aesthetic spirit, will always allow him to bring fresh interpretations and new energies to his work.
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The Russell Collection Fine Art Gallery :: Open Tuesday - Saturday / 10 am - 6 pm