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Rick Howell
Born1957
Died2012
Mogote, Colorado, United States
NationalityAmerican
Known forLandscape painting

Rick Howell (born in 1957 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) was an American landscape painter specializing in plein air works.

After receiving a degree from Colorado State University in Biology, Howell pursued a successful career managing stock brokerage firms in Denver. In 1993, he left his position as manager of a stockbroker firm to pursue his passion for the arts full-time. [1]

Early Life

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Rick Howell was born in 1957 at Kirkland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Richard and Minnie Howell (nee Cox). He was a fourth generation native of the state, "whose earliest ancestors arrived in covered wagons".[2]

As his father was a mechanical engineer for Sandia Laboratories, Howell spent his child and young adulthood in Albuquerque. By the age of 15, Rick worked at Customwood manufacturing, making carved wood grills, doors and stuccoed buildings.[3]

College

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After his freshman year at the University of New Mexico, Howell transferred to Southwest Oklahoma State University. While in Oklahoma, Rick honed his watercolor skills by studying with his neighbor, artist Brent Gibson. It was here that Rick began making a small amount of money from his art. Rick then transferred to Colorado State University, where he earned a degree in Biochemistry and Biology. "My CSU education prepared me for my professional career, both as a business person and as a successful artist," Howell shared in an Alumni Profile in the 2011/2012 Winter edition of the Colorado State Magazine. [4]

After College

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After a brief job working as a chemist for the oil refineries in West Texas' Permian Basin, Howell decided to shift his focus and moved to Denver to begin a career as a stockbroker. He began working with Fidelity, and eventually rose to manage three branches of the brokerage firm Quick and Reilley. When asked why he left the finance business, Howell said:

"I had always wanted to be a painter. But I didn't think you could make a living off of it...One day I was driving and I suddenly looked over at the guy next to me who looked like he didn't have much, but he looked like he was enjoying life. In that moment I just realized that money wasn't my main goal in life. I just wanted to follow my dream--to paint...I turned in my resignation two days later." [5] 

Life as an Artist

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Howell drew inspiration from the wilderness that surrounded his studio at the mouth of the Conejos Canyon in the Southern San Juan Mountains, as well as the diverse adjacent terrain of the Colorado-New Mexico borderlands. In 1997, while in Denver, Howell reconnected with Candice Pulliam, manager of Knox Gallery. Upon reviewing his portfolio, she offered to carry his work at the gallery, and so his career as a landscape painter began.

Rick lived in a 150-year-old adobe home and studio that he renovated in Mogote, Colorado, a village more than a town just four miles north of the New Mexico State line at the mouth of Conejos Canyon in the southern San Juan Mountains. The property was the town's original general store, with walls two feet thick, viga ceilings, and pine wood floors. He lived here until his death in 2012 at the age of 55. [6]

Howell founded Art for Endangered Landscapes in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, in the hope of preserving the landscapes he loved to paint.[7]

Technique

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Howell is best known for his take on views of the Western American landscape, derived from his direct on-site observations and impressions. [8] Highly studied in light, color and shadow, Howell creates highly ordered scenes which juxtapose blurred elements with sharp details. Howell often utilizes the overall tone of colored atmosphere or mist to elicit an emotional response. A member of the American Impressionist Society, he combines elements of both impressionism and realism in his paintings. Accomplished artist, Kevin Macpherson writes, "Rick sought to find deeper meaning in his plein air paintings, and, because of this, his paintings have the power to uplift the viewer by offering a deeper visual experience". [9]

Howell spent most of his work time outdoors, painting en plein air for weeks at a time, even in winter. Of this, Howell said, "plein air paintings have a raw honesty that one is not able to get from working from a photograph in the studio." [10]

Death

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Rick Howell died on November 3rd, 2012, at his home in Mogote, Colorado. [11]

Book

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In 2007, Howell began writing his book "Chasing Shadows", which was published posthumously in 2017. The book is titled as such because, in Howell's own words,"human nature is to never be content, and this may be a good thing. Chasing shadows is how masterpieces are made and lives are fulfilled. It is what drives an artist's life's journey". [12]


Museum Shows

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  • 2012  Fechin Museum Invitational August 25th
  • 2012  A.R Mitchell Memorial Museum May 5th
  • 2012  - Waterhouse Gallery, one-man show, Santa Barbara CA
  • 2011  A.R. Mitchell Memorial Museum of Western Art, National Invitational Painting Exhibition, Trinidad CO
  • 2011  C.M. Russell Museum, The Russell Art Show & Sale, Great Falls MT
  • 2011 Total Arts, two-man show with Huihan Liu, Taos NM
  • 2011 Tierney Fine Art, Bozeman MT
  • 2011 Astoria Fine Art, Jackson Hole WY
  • 2011 Ernest Fuller Fine Art, Denver CO

Individual and Group Shows

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  • 2018  LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe NM
  • 2011 Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara CO
  • 2010  Fine Art Studio Online's Informed Collector, featured as a Highly Collectible Fine Artist
  • 2010 Tierney Fine Art, Bozeman MT
  • 2010 Total Arts Gallery, Taos NM
  • 2010  Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara CA
  • 2010 Ernest Fuller Fine Art, Denver CO
  • 2010 Astoria Fine Art, Jackson Hole WY
  • 2009  Astoria Fine Art, Pieces of Wyoming, Jackson Hole WY
  • 2009  18th Annual Colorado Governor's Show Invitational, Loveland Museum, Loveland CO
  • 2009  Sunset Art Gallery, Life and Leisure Show, Amarillo TX
  • 2009 Ernest Fuller Fine Art, Denver CO
  • 2009  Tierney Fine Art, Bozeman MT
  • 2009  Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara CA
  • 2009  Total Arts Gallery, Taos NM
  • 2008  17th Annual Colorado Governor's Show Invitational, Loveland Museum, Loveland CO
  • 2008  Waterhouse Gallery, Invitational Landscape Show, Santa Barbara CA
  • 2008  Sunset Art Gallery, Amarillo TX
  • 2008  Tierney Fine Art, Bozeman MT
  • 2008  Total Arts Gallery, Quiet Dramas, Taos NM
  • 2008  Ernest Fuller Fine Art, Denver CO
  • 2008  Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara CA
  • 2008  Gallery A, Taos NM
  • 2007  16th Annual Colorado Governor's Show Invitational, Loveland Museum, Loveland CO
  • 2007  27th Annual Governor's Invitational, Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show and Sale, Old Western Museum, Cheyenne WY
  • 2007 Howard/Mandville Gallery, Love of the Land Invitational, Kirkland WA
  • 2007 Greenhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara CA
  • 2007 Ernest Fuller Fine Art, Denver CO
  • 2007  Gallery A, Taos NM
  • 2007  Wendt Gallery, Landscape Show Invitational, Laguna Beach CA
  • 2007  Scissortail Gallery of Fine Art, Owasso OK
  • 2006  26th Annual Governor's Invitational, Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show and Sale, Old Western Museum, Cheyenne WY
  • 2006 Howard/Mandville Gallery, Invitational, Kirkland WA
  • 2006  Greenhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
  • 2006  Gallery A, Taos, NM
  • 2005  Ernest Fuller Fine Art, Denver, CO
  • 2005  Willow Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
  • 2005 25th Annual Governor's Invitational, Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show and Sale, Old Western Museum, Cheyenne, WY
  • 2005  Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio TX
  • 2005  Gallery A, Taos NM
  • 2005  Mad Creek Gallery, Steamboat Springs CO
  • 2004  Gallery A, Taos NM
  • 2004  Mad Creek Gallery, Autumn in Portugal, Steamboat Springs CO
  • 2003  Gallery A, Taos NM
  • 2002  Scissortail Gallery of Fine Art, Owasso OK
  • 2002  Gallery A, Taos NM
  • 2001  Knox Gallery, Denver CO
  • 2001  Contemporary Southwest Gallery, Santa Fe NM
  • 2001  Gallery A, Taos NM

Awards

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  • 2006  Society of Master Impressionists International Exhibition, Best of Show, Andy's Ranch
  • 2006 American Impressionist Society, National Show, Award of Excellence, Wind
  • 2006  American Impressionist Society, National Show, Award of Excellence
  • 2005  American Impressionist Society, National Show, 1st Place, Fall Color
  • 2005  American Impressionist Society, National Show, Honorable Mention, Conejos River
  • 2005  Salon International Museum of Contemporary Masters, Award of Excellence, Tributaries
  • 2005  Salon International, International Museum of Contemporary Masters, Award of Excellence, December on the Rim
  • 2005  Oil Painters of America, National Show
  • 2004 Oil Painters of America, National Show, Award of Excellence, On Any Given Day
  • 2003  Oil Painters of America, National Show, Award of Excellence, Moon Whispers

Publications

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  • February 2011 Southwest Art, Landscape Painting issue, My World Southwest Art article
  • September 2009  Western Art Collector, Visions of Wyoming
  • March-April 2008  Fine Art Connoisseur, Selecting the Right Frame
  • July 2008  American Art Collector, Quiet Dramas
  • October 2006  American Artist, Award Winners
  • December 2005  Southwest Art, Long Time Coming
  • July 2003  International Artist, Award Winners
  • July 2003  Art of the West, What's News
  • July 2003  Southwest Art, On the Scene
  • December 2003  Southwest Art, Colorado Calling
  • November 2001  Southwest Art, Artists to Watch
  • June 2000  Southwest Art, Art Event

References

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  1. ^ Howell, Rick (2017). Chasing Shadows. RFA Publishing. p. book jacket. ISBN 978-0-9833-685-8-8.
  2. ^ Howell, Rick (2017). Chasing Shadows. RFA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9833-685-8-8.
  3. ^ Howell, Rick (2017). Chasing Shadows. RFA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9833-685-8-8.
  4. ^ Howell, Rick (2017). Chasing Shadows. RFA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9833-685-8-8.
  5. ^ Howell, Rick (2017). Chasing Shadows. RFA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9833-685-8-8.
  6. ^ "Rick Howell About". Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  7. ^ Marvel, Ken (August 31, 2018). "Introductory Essay, "Rick Howell: Glimpses of the Land" Exhibition". Catalog. Santa Fe, NM: LewAllen Galleries. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  8. ^ Marvel, Ken (August 31, 2018). "Introductory Essay, "Rick Howell: Glimpses of the Land" Exhibition". Catalog. Santa Fe, NM: LewAllen Galleries. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  9. ^ Howell, Rick (2017). Chasing Shadows. RFA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9833-685-8-8.
  10. ^ "Rick Howell About". Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  11. ^ Howell, Rick (2017). Chasing Shadows. RFA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9833-685-8-8.
  12. ^ Howell, Rick (2017). Chasing Shadows. RFA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9833-685-8-8.