Tim Howe is an artist, and his muse is Napa Valley: its landscapes, light, shadows, hues, trees, hills, and rolling vineyards. For those who drink in the outstanding beauty of Northern California’s premier wine region on a daily basis, that may sound trite. In truth, it’s anything but for this artist.
Because Howe’s life story begins in a place where awesome majesty abounds, it’s an informed declaration as well as an emotional one that brings him to call Napa home. As a New Zealand native, he grew up surrounded by panoramic vistas, verdant valleys, and spectacular settings. He has also traveled the world with a keen eye trained on Mother Nature’s bold and soft landscapes. After graduating from art and design school in Wellington, Howe moved stateside and went into the commercial side of art, creating a design studio/advertising agency where he designed logos and brand packaging. Switching it up, Howe sold his business to spend a year traveling, painting, and establishing a fine art studio in Barcelona that he still maintains.
Ultimately, Howe happily settled in Napa Valley for its unlimited capability to impress his artistic soul.
Howe brings inspiration from the valley onto the canvas, borrowed from the changing landscapes where the vines and trees tell their own life cycle story. By incorporating dramatic use of brush and palette knife with a contemporary flair combined with impressionist overtones, he plays upon positive and negative space, important colors and textures.
“ Creativity takes courage.”- Henri Matisse 
Howe’s oil paintings speak to blues in motion, golden moments, brilliant reflections, autumn vibrancy, harmony, exuberance, vineyards in motion. Beyond the vineyards, some of Howe’s favorite subjects are aspen trees, reflections on water, bursts of autumn, ephemeral clouds, and skies. His latest series, “Deconstruction of the Landscape,” is influenced by his graphic design background, interpreted in oil on canvas using both palette knife and brush. The shapes and colors of a landscape are graphically reconstructed to create a new image, yet not literal. “I see this as a more contemporary way of painting,” said Howe. “I find myself utilizing nature’s shapes and images and interpreting them in a bolder way for maximum effect.”
Tim Howe’s extensive collection of paintings can be seen at his studio, on the website, in galleries nationwide, wineries, on television shows, movie sets, wine bottles, and in the homes of collectors, earning him the nickname, “The Artist of Napa.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tim Howe Studios // 707-260-9500 // timhowestudios.com
Article By: LAURIE JO MILLER FARR
