Downstream: Paintings by Joyce Howell
January 20th – March 11th, 2012
This exhibition of paintings provides an in-depth look at the abstract interpretations of the natural environment. With the merging of pattern, color, and organic river forms, Howell creates spontaneous and lyrical imagery that seizes the viewers’ attention. The artist lives alongside the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country, where she observes the natural color changes that occur throughout the day and through the seasons. She closely observes color changes, atmosphere, temperature, and wind, which she interprets in ethereal paintings of lyrical imagery. Her use of riotous color, texture, and movement evokes an emotional response that encourages one to linger in front of her works.
Second Floor 4 X 5 2011, Oil
Howell states, “The act of painting, for me, is an internal navigation based on instinct and rooted in nature. My paintings are attempts to transfer sensory memories to a visual reality. I seek rhythm and contradiction in my hues, marks and textures. Each painting is an attempt to tap into the beauty that appears spontaneously at my feet and in my memories– if only I am willing to pay attention.”
Joyce Howell graduated from the University of Tulsa with a B.S. in Business Administration. She earned a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Texas Tech University.