Austin Howlett

My name is Austin Howlett and I am a Maui raised artist now living and working in Los Alamos New Mexico and I specialize in surreal figurative oil painting. I primarily derive my inspiration from the people and environments that surround me so that I can create paintings that explore emotional vulnerability and self discovery. I am very much inspired by the inherent flaws found in humanity as a whole and in us as individuals and the small steps we can take to become better people. I love working as an artist because with every painting I feel as if am an adding to a sort of imagined world in my head and it allows me to connect with others through shared emotions and thoughts. Nothing brings me more joy than having a stranger really connect with a painting that I’ve created and that painting allowing us to have an open and honest conversation about our unique experiences. Creating imagery has always been the best way for me to communicate with others and I feel honored to speak to others through my art as a career. Growing up in Maui I gained an intense appreciation for how the natural world can influence our physical and mental wellbeing. Our ties to nature are more prevalent that we think and so I strive to portray this connection in my artwork as a reminder. I hope that each painting I create can encourage emotional vulnerability in its viewers so that we all can work through the things that plague us and eventually find a stronger and more empathetic version of ourselves on the other side.

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.