Barry Howard
Barry Howard currently lives in Reno Nevada U.S.A. he says he moves a lot so expect that to alter some time soon. I guess that’s one great thing about the web is you can move about and the web stays put. www.barryhowardstudio.com
Interests you have other than art you feel are important to mention?
Metaphysics, and the potential of the mind, sailing, travel, living life as an art project.
What are the main medium/s you work in…
Oil painting, murals in acrylics, carved glass, stained glass, wood, marble and granite.
How do you describe your work, realistic, stylised, abstract, narrative, symbolic, other?
Most of my work is a combination of abstract and representational… it most often deals with thoughts feelings and experiences going around in my head.
What fascinates you?
The human mind, nature, birds, lucid dreaming, water, the cosmos, quantum physics, ancient lost cultures… The female body, various mediums such as oil paint and glass.
Now give us a more descriptive outline on your current works.
I am doing semi-abstract and abstract oil paintings, which deal with the subject of nature, metaphysics, dreaming, and parallel worlds.
Why are you an artist?
It’s what has always fascinated me… I never questioned I would be…
How important is art for you?
It is essential…it gives my life meaning, purpose, and a means for self expression and exploration… It is deeply satisfying…
What is it about Visual Art you find compelling?
It can uplift, transport, inspire, shift, awaken, enlighten, and move both the viewer and the artist in an infinite number of ways.
Your art education was…?
Self-directed… I don’t say self taught as I have studied many artists and their work and learned a great deal from them…
Is there any one thing that has given you a big buzz in your art career so far?
I think getting to the point where I like most of what I produce rather than the years I was simply frustrated knowing I was capable of more but didn’t know how to get there.
Was art a “thing” that was encouraged in your family?
My parents were both creative… but not artists exactly…. my dad wanted me to be a career military man… my mom thought I should get a good job at the phone company…
Did the place where you grew up have an influence?
It did… I hated it and so, spent my life in my room, drawing and drinking big cups of black tea and listening to the radio all night…
What or who inspires your art?
I am constantly inspired by art I see all the time… so many incredible artists around today… also by the mysterious aspect of life… and where the realm of the mind leaks over into the physical and metaphysical world.
Was there a big turning point in your art journey that caused you to think that “it’s all worthwhile”, or “oh yeah I get it…”?
I think it all happened in the course of about a week, when i suddenly felt like i had some control over what i was striving for…
What caused you to choose the medium you currently work in?
Love for the mediums and what they do… oil paint, the richness, how they can be moved and manipulated, the beautiful glazes and how it can be blended… glass, how it is both reflective and transparent and how it transmits light
You know you are successful in Visual Arts when…
You look at something you have created and love looking at it…
What can you tell us about your planning and making process for making art, and has that altered over the years?
Initially I just started..no preconcieved idea.. I just began and watched what happened… Then I became more concerned with improving my technical abilities, I started to make preliminary sketches… Then I found all my sketches seemed to have much more life than the finished piece so I quit sketching first… Now, i have come full circle… I just begin with only a vague feeling…. I discover each piece as it develops… I am speaking of painting… glass has to be pre-planned because of the nature of the medium.
Creative streaks do they come in waves for you?
Not really…sometimes life causes me to stop and do other things, but left to my own devices, it’s always there…
Do you get creative glimpses of urges happening and how do you work with these?
I get these all the time, sometimes I just write down a few words to remember it until I can get to working with it… but more often I become somewhat fixated on the idea and keep turning it in my mind…
Have you had any commissions? Any of note etc…
I have had lots of commissions…not sure what “of note” means… If a commission makes me money so i can buy groceries that is of note to me… I really don’t pay any attention to the “noteworthy” world of art… it doesn’t mean much to me and i see alot of it as overly hyped… I see so much phenomenal work done by relatively unknown artists… I am no longer concerned about becoming famous… If I can make art that means something to me and to others, and make enough from it to support myself and focus on creating what i want to, then i am very happy… The only reason I can see to be famous is it is easier to make a living then…
Does the sale of your work support you? If no what else do you do to support your art (job)?
I make my living from a combination of selling my art and doing murals…
Do you have much contact with other artists?
Yes, both online and offline
Any upcoming or completely new projects you want to talk about?
Currently I am working on my new studio/gallery and creating a new body of work… Commercially I am tentatively going to be doing a large carved glass project in Las Vegas probably in summer
All artists seem to have struggles, tell us about any you have had.
The period of years where I lived in my studio and painted everyday and didn’t like anything I produced was exhausting… I couldn’t quit, I knew I was capable of creating work I really loved, but I wasn’t there yet… it nearly drove me nuts… I would look around my studio at all my work and i didn’t like any of it… and making a living from my art has been a real journey… not always an easy or fun journey….
What sort of depth or meaning is there behind the work you do?
The meaning is very subjective, both for me and for the viewer, it has meaning to me but I am better at painting it than verbalizing it. I have experienced many very deeply moving states of mind and it is those moments in time, those ‘”spaces” I have experienced I would like to share through my work.
What can you tell us about your creative development process?
It usually begins with a very vague hint of where i want to go…it is a process of finding it…following threads of feeling that lead me to what i am trying to express…it is mysterious to me…
Has being involved in the arts proven to be a millstone or a point of elation?
Sometimes both… I can’t imagine life without it but there have been times I have seriously wished I was the type of person that could just open a little hardware store or whatever and be happy with that…
The value of Visual Arts to you is…
It pops us out of the everdayness of life and confronts us with other worlds, other viewpoints, other moods, and other feelings… it inspires and energizes… it opens up doors in the mind that were closed
Your first show at a “gallery” you thought was of value, how was the whole thing for you?
I should probably think more about these things.. I have mostly focussed on the art rather than the business end of it… Shows fall into the catagory of “shoulds” to me, hence I have done too few of them, I would far rather be in my studio…
What is the most unexpected response you’ve received from a viewer of your work?
A couple of times people have walked into my gallery and without hesitation, walked directly up to a painting and just stood there..finally said, “i’ve been looking for this painting for years”
Tell us about getting caught in a creative “slump” and how you got out of it?
Usually it means i am starting to repeat myself rather than pursuing something compelling…i have come to find that a slump is what comes before an artistic leap of some sort…
If someone says to you “Oh your work is decorative and lacks any meaning…” your response would be…?
When someone criticises my work i tend to consider the source….then i ask myself if there is anything in the criticism that i can use to improve my work…is there any validity to the criticism?..,if there is anything useful there i take it in and it pushes me to improve….if i don’t think the criticism is valid in my view, i chalk it up to one person’s prejudices.
What would you say are the top three things that make you successful as an artist?
I am unstoppable, highly ambitious, innovative.
Some artists are more “at home” isolated in their creative process, while others revel in being part of a group to bounce “ideas off” how about you?
I have lived in both environments… I enjoy both, living among other artists is stimulating but I am usually working in a more isolated environment and I love that.
What is one thing you need to have in your studio before you work?
Easel.
What or how do you respond to the term “Starving Artist”?
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt…
Is the making of art all it was “cracked up to be”?
The more i do it and the more I learn and the better I become at it the better it is… It is the most fun I can think of… There are times in the process when I am on a complete high.
Are you the sort of artist that seeks out promotional opportunities or one that shuns the limelight?
I have to make a real effort to promote myself… I would much rather just make art… but then if nobody knows I’m doing it then nobody is going to buy it…and then the bill collectors start calling me up…
Technology (websites and social networking sites to name a few) has become an important marketing tool for many industries and individuals, what are your thoughts from a “You Inc” perspective and your art sensibility.
I am actively involved in developing a strong web presence…i have done alot of work on my website and am currently on Artbreak, Flickr, Talentdatabase, Artistic MInds and MyArtSpace, a few social networking sites and twitter.
Do you aim to make “masterpieces” with the aim of being seen in the future as an artist that really made their mark in art history?
I strive to make each piece a masterpiece to myself.. I don’t think about making a mark in history but I would like it if my work inspires someone, or moves them in some positive way…. I like the idea of leaving something behind, which is meaningful to someone else…
What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
Learn all you can..learn to draw well…. take criticism with a grain of salt, become unstoppable… don’t believe everything you learned in art school.. get your ego out of the way…. don’t believe everything a gallery owner tells you… take responsibility for your own career, nobody else is going to… do what you are most passionate about…. don’t get too full of yourself.. there will always be someone better…
How did you go about marketing your art?
I am currently working on expanding my online visibility, setting up my gallery, and then pursuing some other galleries
How many artworks do you produce in a year?
Maybe twenty to thirty….
How often do you work in the studio?
Daily.
What did your prices start off at?
When i started? well, in third grade I sold felt tip marker drawings on t-shirts of the flintstones for a dollar each…
How many artworks do you work on at the same time?
From three to five or so…
How did you manage to survive financially at the beginning of your art career?
I did a variety of jobs, waited tables, built things, did some commercial art jobs, lots of different jobs… I always tried to do as little of that as I could get away with as I wanted to spend every minute in the studio…
Can you respond to this quote “Anyone who is half assed about art should get out.” (Janet Fish).
I think there are all sorts of reasons to make art… not everyone wants to be famous or even sell their work… some just do it because they get some enjoyment out of it… I don’t believe a person needs some lofty reason to make art… it’s a means of self expression and there are all kinds of different levels to that…. it’s all legitimate in my eyes…
Was there a point where you decided: OK I can live off of my art?
I have always been committed to that, but it hasn’t been such a cut and dried road… it’s been quite an uneven road with alot of potholes…
How did your first solo show go?
It was alot of fun… well recieved… didn’t make alot of money though…
Do you have ideas turning over in your head all the time or…
Yes.
Eccentricity is seen as a common trait of artists of many disciplines, how about you?
I don’t think of myself as eccentric, but i don’t think i am quite an average bloke either… there are lots of stereotypes about artists…we are suppose to be sloppy and drink too much and stay up all night and be a bit wacky and moody, and have to suffer to work… I don’t fit those too well… artists come in all flavors
How do you continue to grow, or is this not important?
I have a curiosity about life, and how it all works… my mind is like a sponge and I am always looking for things I haven’t tried before… new approaches… new ways to expand what I am already doing…
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Compiled and edited by Steve Gray © 2009+
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