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Howard Behrens Biography

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 Nicola 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.

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.

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