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. 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 Nicolai 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.
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Using the palette knife,
Behrens captures not only the softness of clouds, but also
the boldness of mountains, the vibrancy of flowers, and the
strength of water. Behrens moves the palette knife furiously
as he applies deep, rich color in many layers to achieve
dimension and mood. Behrens' skill with this instrument has
earned him recognition as America's leading palette knife
artist. Behrens is also a classicist in his approach to
composition so that there is plenty of room for the eye to
rest and the imagination to wander, touring distant horizons
around the world taking in crystal coves, wispy palms, pink
villas, and stunning overlooks in the artist's paintings of
these exotic places.
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.
Behrens and his wife,
Judi, travel the world - Italy, Bermuda, Mexico, across
America - to many of their favorite places filled with
gardens, inns, vistas, and villas. Celebrate romance with
Behrens, a poet sculpting paint on canvases that are alive
with color, and join him on a romance with the sun that will
never end.
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