"I feel
a tremendous amount of excitement facing a new canvas. This
energy comes from the thrill of transforming it into a recollection
of my travels to the world's most beautiful and romantic places.
As an Expressionist, I paint fast while the passion for the
painting is very strong. For me, the paint is the subject matter
just as much as the image. I love the juicy chunks of color
that I can translate to canvas with my palette knife."
--Howard Behrens |
For the past 25 years, Howard
Behrens, the world's most renowned palette knife artist, has
had a romance with the sun. From the idyllic lakes of Italy
to the intimate gardens of New England, the artist has danced
with her, chased her, seen her in her many different moods.
During his travels, he has seen the way the ever-changing kaleidoscope
of light and shadow changes how a place looks and feels from
hour to hour. Often, the artist sits and waits for these moods
to present themselves to him. Behrens says the sun has taught
him to be patient, to observe, and to play. Behrens' motivation
comes from his strong passion to capture the "essence"
of the places he visits around the world. The artist has been
influenced by Monet, Van Gogh and Nicola Simbari, the Italian
palette knife artist. Behrens attempts to express his love for
the radiance of the sun's gifts - shadow, light, color, and
the subtle nuances of these elements. Many years ago, Behrens
learned that the only way he can really achieve what he feels
in his paintings is to create them using a palette knife for
its boldness and control of color instead of a brush. Behrens'
skill with this instrument has earned him recognition as America's
leading palette knife artist.
Behrens has had over 150 one-man
shows from coast-to-coast since becoming a professional artist
in 1980. His works have been on the covers of many art publications
and he has been the featured subject of numerous magazines and
newspapers. After visiting Giverny, France, last year, the artist
created a "Tribute to Monet" series that was exhibited
at the Embassy of France in Washington, D. C. As an official
artist for the 2002 Winter Olympics, Behrens' painting, "In
Motion," was featured at the games. The artist's works
are owned by numerous, well-known collectors and are in the
permanent collections of many museums. The most recent Behrens'
collectors are former President George Bush and Mrs. Barbara
Bush.
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