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Hello everyone, I'm really excited to announce that my two paintings "Walking Giants and "Between Light and Shadow" will be in the Influences Art Show put on by the Loveland Artists Collective!
This show will be open the whole month of September with an in-person opening reception on September 11th. 😷
If you are in the area come check out my paintings as well as the other awesome artwork in this show!
Here is the full process video for my painting "When Our Work is Done" I created this painting as a gift to my in-laws to celebrate and remember the life of Levi Martinez. I hope you enjoy seeing how I created this piece and I hope the audio commentary gives you some insights into my process!
I am both humbled and excited to say that my painting "Flowers and Thorns" has been sold!
This piece is incredibly special to me so I really happy to see it going to a forever home of a new collector! I had the pleasure to speaking to this buyer on the phone and I have to say that it's really reassuring to know that this piece will be going to a loving home that really appreciates its beauty. The buyer said that she simply could not get the image out of her head for sever days and needed to buy the original piece!
As always, I'm greatly appreciative of this sale and so happy that something I created will be hanging in someones else's home!
About a month ago my father-in-law lost his dad and my wife had the idea to paint this beautiful photo of their hands during his final hours. Losing a loved one is incredibly hard, but I think it’s especially difficult to lose a parent. I asked my father-in-law about the significance of his and his father’s hands and this is what he said.
“Our hands represent our ability to work, to create, to hug, to wave, to congratulate. They hint at how hard our life was and how fragile we really are. My dad’s hands are a window into how he lived his life. He was a tireless hard worker and used his hands to build and create many a building, out of bricks, blocks, glass, and wood. The scars and callouses on his hands also give a glimpse that he did not live in fear and was tough enough to do anything he put his mind to. In his final hours, his hands were still strong and yet soft. I will miss dad and his hands.”
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant…”
I chose to name this piece "When Our Work is Done" because Levi was a worker and a problem solver all of his life and now he finally gets to rest.
Levi will be greatly missed and never forgotten.
I'm really happy to announce the sale of not one, not two but THREE of my abstract landscape paintings from several years ago to a single collector! While I haven't painted in this style for a while now, I'm so thankful that this buyer sees the beauty and value in these paintings and decided that she wanted them in her home! I'm always appreciative of art buyers but I'm especially thankful that many people are still seeing the value of art in these uncertain times.
I'm really proud to bring you my newest Terra Human painting "Flowers and Thorns"
This piece was a huge challenge but a joy to work on throughout! From beginning to end I was able to just let me eye for detail run wild and enjoy soaking up all of the colors, textures, twigs and flowers that this image had to offer. I'm really proud of what I was able to accomplish in this piece and I hope you enjoy it!
Here is a full description of the piece!
✍🏻This piece is a tribute to my love for beauty, in all of its forms.Ever since I can remember, I have sought after beauty. Whether I was admiring a landscape, performing a dance, or painting a picture, my motive has always been to find things that are awe-inspiring and share them.
In a way I think that my search for beauty is my filter for the world and how I perceive it. As I’ve gotten older, I’m realizing that it is almost impossible to perceive something without any sort of bias and since childhood I have always perceived the world as inherently beautiful in its imperfection.
This brings me to the painting you see before you. For all of my life, I have had no issue with saying when I found someone attractive—no matter their gender. I wanted to paint this man because his face tells a story. I feel that his eyes seem to capture an interesting combination of sadness and optimism. He is intertwined with weeds, thorns, flowers, and grass to show that beauty can be found in unexpected places if you are prepared to look.
I believe that beauty can inspire good in the world and the more beauty we can learn to see the better our world will become.
For today's Throwback Thursday I thought it would be a great opportunity to look back at all the paintings I've created so far this year!
Now it's safe to say that 2020 has been a rough year for most of us for a number of reasons but I cannot help by still be thankful for for the people who appreciate and buy art even when our world is so uncertain. I personally think that art can be a powerful catalyst for self reflection and introspection that can make a huge difference in our lives. And I feel like so many of you understand this as well and it makes me really grateful to have any sized following as long as they understand my message.
So as we push past the halfway mark of this year I hope that we can all seek to understand each other to the best of our abilities so that we can progress as a whole. Even though the world can potentially throw even more at us in the coming months I still look to the future with optimism because I believe in the power of art.
So thank you for all of your support so far in 2020! I hope that I can create even more amazing art in the second half of the year as well as connect with more artists and kind collectors!
For this week’s Throwback Thursday I thought it would be fun to look at two paintings with very similar compositions and subjects that are 3 years apart!
It’s pretty cool to see how my technique and observation of color has improved over the years, resulting in more vibrant paintings with more depth in my opinion. I love seeing these pieces side by side because even though I would consider one much better than the other because I can safely say that each painting was the result of my ABSOLUTE best effort at the time and that is something I can always be proud of.
When I’m creating a new painting it can be a really intimidating process and one of the ways I cope with this pressure is understanding that I don’t need the painting to be perfect, I just strive to make each painting better than the last. And honestly its okay if that doesn’t even happen either. There are many ups and downs when creating artwork and its totally fine when you try something and it doesn’t work.
Over these past few years I have been pushing myself inch by inch to create better artwork, trying not to ask too much of myself but always striving to get better. And its really been working for me and I encourage you do try this as well in other aspects of life. There is nothing wrong with taking small manageable steps towards your goals, it can keep your mental health in check and bring you to some amazing results over time!
I thought today’s Throwback would be a great opportunity to talk about what I feel is one of the more important themes in my work which is vulnerability in men.
I first started to explore this theme in my artwork back in 2017 with “Shelters Built on Men” a piece that explores the pressures we place on men in our society and how we build upon their backs expecting them to always be strong and unwavering. This piece served as a great transition into illustrating themes that have a strong significance in my life and address issues that are important to me.
As I’ve explored this theme over the years with several paintings I’ve started to think about the pressures we put on ourselves as men and the societal norm for us to hold in our feelings, fears and troubles. There are so many troubled men in our world who feel alone because they fear above all else the idea of being vulnerable with another person. They choose to suppress their emotions because they are afraid to feel what’s inside of them.
Exploring this theme can be rewarding yet difficult for me, because it not only makes me worry about the mental state of men in our society but also my own mental and emotional state. Am I being real with the people around me? Am I being real with myself?
But when I look outside myself and think about the men surrounding me in my life, they are the ones that brings me hope. When I think about the male friends and acquaintances in my life, I cannot help but see their incredible growth over the years that I’ve know them. These are people who are seeming to push against the perceived norm and are willing to be vulnerable with themselves and with people around them. They are pushing to learn more about what’s inside of them so that they can be better partners and friends. But most importantly they are being genuine with each other, sharing their struggles, anxieties and fears so that these emotions don’t bottle up and change them from the inside.
Cheers to these people in my life! You know who you are! Please know that I appreciate and celebrate you!
Thanks for reading!
I really hope you all enjoy this extensive process video showing how I created "Walking Giants." It not only takes a long time to complete a painting but it also takes plenty of additional time to create and edit a video showing how I made it. So I hope you enjoy watching this painting process and hopefully learn some things about my how I work and why I make certain decisions.
Personally it's almost therapeutic for me to look back on how I created a piece and record my thoughts in a video. I feel like I get to fully process the experience and share my insights with you!
This original piece is available for purchase directly from me! CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT IN MY SHOP!
I'm happy to say that I'm officially releasing prints of "Offering" through Like Minded Productions!
This was such a special piece for me and I feel so fortunate that the original sold! So I'm glad to now offer high quality framable prints that are all signed by yours truly!
Painting Description: This painting is a visualization for my love for nature and the comforting role it has provided for me growing up. When I initially thought about how I wanted this painting to look and what I wanted it to be about, I quickly realized that I wanted a specific type of tree to be growing out of my hand. I wanted it to be eucalyptus tree because these trees instantaneously bring me back to my childhood. I grew up surrounded by many different types of trees but these trees in particular had so many qualities that I loved. Visually they were always unbelievably tall making me feel humbled but also inspired at the same time. In addition they have an incredibly unique smell to them that always brings me peace and calm.
This piece is titled offering because I like to think that through my artwork I am offering you a new perspective on the way we view our relationship with nature. I hope that my paintings can help you see how incredibly giving the natural world is and how much comfort we all can find in it if we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
I'm incredibly proud to bring you my newest Terra Human painting "Walking Giants." This piece is the result of approximately 185 hours of focused and diligent work and I'm really happy with how it turned out.
Now usually I like to tell you that "I really enjoyed working on this piece!" But that wouldn't be entirely true with this one. Honestly this painting process had a lot of ups and downs with plenty doubt looming around in my head. I had some days when I felt really optimistic about the piece and was convinced it would be my best painting yet. But I also had other days when I thought this piece was too much to handle and it would be a waste of time. I just kept telling myself that if I continued to persevere and allowed my identity to come through the brushstrokes, then the piece would turn into something special.
In the end I think it's okay that this piece wasn't 100% awesome to work on everyday. I think the struggle makes it that much more meaningful to me and I now feel really accomplished to have conquered this project. I really hope that this piece brightens your day and prompts you look inward.
I will be posting this full piece with it's description soon so be on the look out for that!
“Walking Giants” Currently available for purchase in my online store. CLICK HERE TO VIEW IN MY STORE!
✍🏻 This painting addresses the concept of humility. There is so much that we can obtain and achieve in our lives that it’s easy to forget the vastness of space and time as well as our small part in this infinite world. We are seen in this painting traversing this world with true humility and a willingness to learn. As we walk we take care not to crush even the smallest plants and animals because we understand that all life plays an important role on this planet. As the luminous sunrise bathes the surrounding cliff edges with color and warmth we are reminded of the seemingly infinite amount of time this planet has been alive and changing. And we start to understand that our time here is short yet meaningful and there is much good that we can do if we walk tall and care for those who are both bigger and smaller than us.
Hi friends, my throwback Thursday posts have continued on my Facebook and Instagram pages so I thought I would share some of the recent ones! These posts have been a great opportunity to reflect back on old work and so how my theme, techniques and concepts have changed and developed over the years. Enjoy!
Painting for my girlfriend vs Painting for my wife! Haha I thought this weeks TBT would be a fun opportunity to look way back at a painting I made for my girlfriend of just 3months who would eventually become my wife. In the summer after my freshman year of college I was extremely motivated to impress the new girl in my life with a personalized original oil painting! I was clearly still learning but was determined to make her something special. I decided to paint a view of Pikes Peak (a defining feature of her hometown, Colorado Springs) with some colorful and fluffy clouds which we both love.
Flash forward a few years to 2016 when I spent several months painting this enormous 4'x6' landscape painting of Crested Butte in my basement bedroom/studio so that she could hang it in her new home as her very own painting.
Now in 2020 I'm incredibly fortunate to be married to that girl and have this piece hanging in our home as a symbol of our dedication to one another. Just like art, our relationships take patience, dedication and a little bit of luck.
Here is a great Throwback Thursday comparing the initial sketch to the final product of "As One"!
It's no secret that this piece is one of my best paintings to date and I owe its success as well as many others to proper planning. This comparison of the sketch to the final product makes me think of how much I've come to rely on proper planning and prep for a piece so that I can fully create the image that captures the proper concept and mood.
I never used to plan out paintings very much and while this works great for other artists, I started to find that the more accuracy I could capture in my image, the more it would blend reality with a dream. So as the years have progressed I've done a lot more sketching, photoshop rendering and gridding of my paintings so that I can capture the image properly and then choose to deviate from it if I want. •
Overall the most beneficial preparation tool for me has been doing small painting studies before a final piece. If you follow my process you will see that before each Terra Human piece I will typically do a painting study of the landscape as well as the figure before attempting the final piece. This planning process helps me work out colors, shapes and proportions so that the final product can be beautiful and thought provoking.
I hope you enjoyed my reflections on this sketch to final product comparison!
When I posted this hand and tree sketch in 2018, it had gotten the MOST social media engagement that I had ever had at the time. And this shocked me because it wasn't even a painting! But I think it shows the strength in simplicity and the significance of a strong concept coming to life.
The hand and tree oil painting was a great achievement for me in understanding lights and shadows influence colors. I'm really proud of the realism I was able to obtain in this painting and I think it really helps the concept shine through.
WOW my second publication in a month! I feel very luck to have been featured in the May 2020 Surrealism Issue of Marvelous Art Magazine! (Featured Paintings: “Between Light and Shadow” and “EVE”)
You can use this link to view the whole issue by clicking HERE!
Friends, I have been very fortunate to have some great exposure and sales lately and I just wanted to say thank you for your continued support! Whenever you like, comment or share one of my posts it helps me expand my audience and reach new opportunities, so thank you!
Hi friends, I hope you enjoy this slightly different formate for my new Terra Human painting! For this piece I chose to create a portrait and create a sort of double exposure effect in order to incorporate the nature components. So instead of having a figure physically sitting or laying in a landscape, she its actually blended with it. Scroll down for a full description of the painting.
This painting is about the loneliness that we many of us are feeling during these uncertain times. Our normal interactions with friends and family have been reduced and modified and this has affected our emotional wellbeing more that we realize. Some of us may be experiencing heightened anxiety or depression that make us want to retreat away from other people even more than usual. We all cope with times of stress differently and that’s alright as long as we understand that deserve the love that is in our lives and that things will get better eventually.
The woman in this piece has retreated away from people but she finds comfort in the nature that surrounds her. Visually the branches almost support the shapes and curves of her face, keeping her head up in a time of sadness. She has blended into her surroundings so that they may fill in her missing pieces and make her whole again.
Thanks for reading! As always, this original painting is available to purchase in my online shop! CLICK HERE TO VIEW IN THE SHOP!
Great News! I'm happy to announce that I've partnered with Like Minded Productions to do a final release of my "As One" limited edition prints! People have been asking me to do another release of these prints for a few months now so I want to give you the opportunity to be one of 30 limited edition owners! We have 18 left in this series!
Click on this link to see my print in the Like Minded Shop!
Like Minded is an excellent small business here in Denver and they have been nothing but generous and kind ever since we met!
A few weeks ago I got an instagram add for an open call on an online art sharing platform called Artrepreneur. It was free to apply and only required you to make a profile on their site in order to enter. The open call description was as follows: “At a time when we’re all bound to stay inside our domestic structures, show us work that’s inspired by and demonstrates the diversity of human experience circumscribed within the concept of home. For this, our first Curated Open Call, we're looking for work who's subject-mater captures that which treads the boundary between the domestic structure (house, apartment, condo, tent, etc.) and those experiences that transform it into a home.”
I really loved this topic and was excited to apply with a few of my Terra Human paintings. A week or so after applying I received this congratulatory email!
And this was my submission description for all my paintings: These paintings show our physical bodies restricted in our homes while our imaginations explore the rest of the world and bring the outside in. Our limitless imagination can run wild when feel safe and comfortable in our own home, bringing us our favorite aspects of the outside so that we might feel inspired and hopeful. The comfort of our own homes allows us to gaze out the window and image a new and better world for us and our children and this speck of hope allows us to wait patiently.
A few days later I was also excited to see this article about this open call on the Artrepreneur Art Business Journal! You can read the full article by clicking HERE!
Happy Friday everyone! I would like to introduce you to my newest Terra Human painting titled "Hidden Meadow"
I’ve spent this past month in quarantine painting this beauty! I’m not going to lie it was difficult at times to be working on such a daunting project while the there has been so much uncertainty in our world during this global pandemic. I definitely experienced days when I felt like it was all too much and I felt powerless and small. And something that brought me out of this darkness was knowing that small things done right really add up and I should focus on the things that were in my control. I could control how much time I painted/ worked and I could also control how much time I relaxed and took a moment for myself and my mental wellbeing. It has really been beneficial for me to look at my goals as marathons instead of sprints. I sometime's get so excited about the final result that I just want to run towards it as fast as I can, but I’ve learned that if I pace myself I will stay balanced and in control. Meaningful things take time and patience and that’s what I kept reminding myself while I was painting this piece.
So this painting is the result of over 50hours of patient work and planning. I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to read the description below.
This painting is about the places we go in times of distress in order to find peace and reassurance. These imaginary worlds can be made up of memories, images and emotions that bring us joy and comfort when we need it the most. We all have these types of locations in our memory and we retreat to them when the outside world can be too much for us to handle and we need to sit with our thoughts and emotions.
This painting illustrates what it looks like when we travel to this perfect spot in our mind, fall down into the soft trees and rest our eyes. Our bodies become one with our surroundings and the plants and animals grow and live in harmony with us without fear. We blend into the environment that we hold so dear to our heart and find a rejuvenated strength underneath the mountains. This strength allows us to stand back up despite the fear that is waiting for us on the other side and depart this comforting world with a level head and an accepting heart.
I really hope you enjoy this new piece in my Terra Human series. This original painting is available for purchase! Click here if you would like to view this painting in my shop!
I just wanted to share that my recent hand study original painting has been sold!
I'm really appreciative of those who truly see the value in art even in stressful and uncertain times. Since we are in our homes more than ever right now, I think it's important to have something on your wall that can bring you peace.
Here is what the buyer sent me once they decided to purchase the piece. I loved their thoughts 🤗
✍️"One of the things I was randomly contemplating before I actually saw the hand piece was how our hands are essentially our second pairs of eyes. When we walk through a dark room it’s with our hands that we use to see and even to feel. So much of human experience is governed by our “sight” and our “feeling” so to have such a “simple” body part represent so much of our inner humanity really blew my mind."
Hi friends, are hope you are staying safe and staying at home as much as possible. Recently I’ve been posting some throwback Thursday painting comparisons on my instagram and facebook as a fun little activity. My followers have really been enjoying it and I hope you do as well!
I started thinking of these comparison ideas when I was looking at my old paintings on my facebook art album. Every so often I like to look back at my old artwork to see how much I’ve improved and so I thought it would be a fun thing to share.
The purpose of these comparisons is not to knock my old work or disregard it in anyway, rather it’s a fun opportunity to see how I’ve grown as an artist in both technical skill and concept execution. I’ve been trying to choose images with similar subjects so that you can see the clear changes or improvements in my technique as well as some differences in how I paint now verses then. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these examples, if you follow me on facebook or instagram you will most likely see some more of these!
In this painting of Hallett Peak I really wanted to showcase the depth of this incredible landscape so that the majesty of this peak could take center stage. In order to achieve this depth, I made sure to pay attention to a few technique aspects of every landscape.
The first is that objects that are far in the distance have less color saturation and a smaller range of value. The second this that large objects in the distance have more atmosphere between it and the viewer so its colors typically have more blue in them, particularly the shadows. These small adjustments allow this peak to fade into the distance of the painting creating a nice illusion. Another important aspect of this painting was all of the shadows. This photo was taken at sunset time so there are plenty of shadows in this scene. The two main shadows I wanted to pay attention to were the shadows case by Hallett Peak in the background but also the shadow cast by a peak that is actually behind the viewer and out of sight.
I was tempted to leave this shadow out of the painting but I realized that it nicely created the illusion of immersion in the painting so that the viewer really feels surrounded my mountains. Plus this shadow breaks up the composition of the foreground nicely and adds some movement. Overall I really enjoyed creating this piece and I’m excited to be turning it into a Terra Human painting soon!
As always this original painting is available to purchase in my online shop. Click here to view in the shop!
Hello friends! I just wanted to share my latest Youtube Video with you! I have just uploaded my time lapse process video of my newest Terra Human painting “Imprint” and I hope you enjoy watching it! I have a few more videos coming out soon so be sure to subscribe so you can see those as well!
Austin Howlett Art