Howard Behrens is known as the "master of the palette knife" and is one of America's most important contemporary artists. Collectors include Barbara Bush, Burt Reynolds, Neil Diamond, and Marvin Hamlisch. Behrens’ paintings are distinctively textured and brilliantly illuminated land and seascapes evoking memories of romantic interludes in exotics settings, often encompassing familiar architecture and promenades. The artist developed his current painting style from his lifelong passion for travel: “I only paint the places I’ve actually been to…the beaches, the mountains…places that are a part of my life.” The Italian and French Rivieras, Mediterranean, Lake Como, San Francisco are well-travelled and the viewer is transported directly into the heart of the locale through an immediacy in technique and explicit perspective.
Originally determined to study medical illustration after receiving his undergraduate degree in painting, the artist changed his mind and altered course when Johns Hopkins’ program required waiting an additional year; he continued painting, receiving a master’s degree. However, prior to committing his undivided energies to painting, Behrens worked as the Chief Artist/Designer in the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. Since his first solo exhibition in 1980, Behrens has exhibited extensively and is included in private and corporate collections in both the United States and Europe.
