Howie Green Biography

Howie Green: Artist and Painter

Howie's design and illustration work has won over 40 awards from regional and national design competitions. Howie's portrait "Madonna Smoking" was featured in the 2004 British Art book "Madonna in Art" by Mem Memet. Recently one of Howie's album cover paintings won First Prize in the Absolut Vodka 25th Anniversary art competition in Boson, MA.

In 1992 Howie Green came to national attention as a painter and artist with the publication of his book “Jazz Fish Zen: Adventures in Mamboland”. His colorful and whimsical artwork has been featured in 18 group and solo shows and has adorned 9 public and private murals. He regularly creates privately commissioned portraits and corporate logo paintings.

Born in Rochester, NY and raised in Rochester and Clarence Center, NY, Howie Green has a unique artist's eye for the colorful fun that springs out of our popular culture. Images from comics, celebrities, movies, TV and various other flotsam and jetsam that washes up on the rocky shores of our popular media all make their way into Howie's colorful and fun Pop Art creations.

When Howie entered art school in the mid-60s at RIT in Rochester, NY, it was an explosive time in popular culture. While there Howie was exposed to color guru Josef Albers, typographic master Hermann Zaph, sculptor Wendell Castle and most importantly color theorist, painter and architect Fritz Trautman. Later, when Howie was art director of "New Age Journal", he was contacted by Peter Max after he had done a Max-like illustration for the magazine. Howie recalls "Peter saw my illustration and called me to see if we would like to use him to do artwork for the magazine. I was thrilled! Not only did he do artwork for "New Age Journal" for me, but I also worked with him for several years on projects for the University of New Hampshire. I'm also proud to say, Peter did his very first sports painting for me for the cover of the Boston Celtics Media Guide."

Howie has continued through the 1990s and into the new millennium to paint and create new images and works that combine his endless curiosity, technology and color...lots and lots of color! Regarding his use of color Howie said, "I was in art school during the era, of Peter Max, Yellow Submarine and the San Francisco rock posters. What can I say? I guess it "colored" my thinking!"

Today, Howie uses a pop-fauvist color palette and has an eclectic, upbeat, approach to his subject matter. Howie says a lot of people tell him that they love "his colors". Howie comments "My colors? They don't belong to me. Colors are out there floating around. I just happen to use them all!"

Howie's celebrity portraits combine digital technology and traditional painting to reflect the genre developed by Warhol and Max, but in a whole new approach, unique to Howie. "I was looking for a way to do something with my art and with my growing pile of computers and technology and I found it."
Indeed...