Lincoln Howard
Biography
Lincoln Howard was born in Vancouver Bc Canada on Feb 23 1970 .He started painting late in life at the age of 48 years old.I stumbled uppon painting when my wife recomended we take a acrylic painting class. I havnt stopped painting since.He was immediatly attracted to abstraction and the abstract expressionist painters and movement.I am influenced by those artists and their imagry.My paintings are conjured by a feeling or they just sort of come to me like in a day dream.My mantra has always been to create interesting images always striving to push the boundries of abstraction.I have lots of paintings in my mind. Im looking to combine photographs into my art . Im also interested in using flourescent lights as well as various found objects. Im interested how light interacts with my paintings and also the reflection of light off of mirrors .I include glitter neon and glow in the dark paint into my work. I feel it makes the paintings more interesting and gives them a personality.
What’s your background?
I was born in Vancouver B.C. in 1970 and grew up in Burnaby a suburb next to Vancouver, I loved drawing as a child and enjoyed making art in High School .My focus was more on sports growing up. I played hockey. lacrosse , football art wasn’t a big focus of mine. After high school I got a full-time job and focused on work. I eventually got married and had two girls I still wasn’t making any art . I appreciated art I went to galleries and bought some art but being an artist wasn’t something I thought I could pursue. It wasn’t till 2018 at the age of 48 that I really got the painting bug. I started painting and I haven’t stopped painting since. I guess you could say it’s a bit of an obsession. I even start to get depressed if I haven’t painted anything for a couple weeks. I think about my art all the time about what I want to make next and how I want to do it.
What does it mean to you to win the Collectors Art Prize?
Winning the Collectors Art Prize is a great honor Im flattered and very happy to have been selected. Im looking forward to being able to show people my work on such a diverse professional platform. As an artist getting your art shown and out into the world is such a large part of what we strive to do. Winning this prize will get my work out there and bring some validation and exposure to my art moving forward. Im so grateful to have the chance to showcase my unique brand of abstraction to this audience ! Thank you Contemporary Art Curator!
What do you think is the role of art in the world today?
The role of art in the world today is to inspire to entertain and to push boundaries . I feel art has to do at least one of those things .The best art will combine all three. I have always tried to push boundaries with my art through imagery and materials I use. You can be political and send a message but to do it in a entertaining esthetically pleasing way is the hard part.
What would it be if you could change one thing about the art world?
That’s a hard question. I guess what I would change is to make things more equitable to include more artists. What I mean by that is it seems like 2% of the artists get all the representation all the big shows placed in the well known Art museums etc… That’s amazing if you are in the 2% but not so great if you are in the 98%. So, I guess what I would change is to have more resources and exposure placed on the up-and-coming artists.Show case the up and commers. I think lending them a hand would benefit everyone in the long run.
What are your most significant professional achievements?
Winning this art prize is one of the highlights thus far! In 2022 I was published in an art book in Spain, Art Anthology volume 5. I was in a group show in New York that was a dream come true. I will be having my first solo show this summer Im not sure of the exact dates yet but it will run for a month at Art@Bental Gallery in downtown Vancouver. I also received representation by Influx gallery out of London England in late 2022. Im happy the way my art career has been going so far. Every year there seems to be unexpected twists and turns. Im looking forward to see what 2023 has to offer.
What do you wish to tell viewers about your work that might not come out explicitly? What do you hope to inspire with your artwork?
I would like the viewers to know that my work is quite sculptural it doesn’t appear that way from pictures taken straight on. I use a paste that gives my work a textural 3D quality you can only really see this by seeing it up close. My work is a multi layer process usually in three or four stages. My work incorporates a grig pattern on the base layer of my paintings. The grid represents our lives the millions of twists turns and decisions we make during our lives. I hope to inspire conversation with my artwork if nothing else .I want there to some sort of response good or bad. My work comes from a place of feeling and emotion and I hope that comes through when they view my work.
What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of artists?
My advice would be to borrow from the past but don’t replicate it. Im influenced greatly by the abstract expressionists but Im not trying to replicate them. I love Clifford Stills work. I borrow from him but Im not trying to be a modern day Still. Find your own style don’t make trendy art because trends come and go. Make art that is meaningful to you that is what’s most important. If your work speaks to you it will speak to other people as well. Find your esthetic and go for it.
In what direction would you like to see your career go in the next five years?
Over the next five years I would like to continue to get my work out into the world. I would like to do more physical and virtual shows. Continue to build my profile in Canada and the art world internationally. Ultimately to get my work collected and placed in personal and institutional collections world wide that would be my ultimate goal.
Country Canada
