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Denise Howard is a native of northeast Missouri, where she grew up on a working farm. She has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She began receiving commissions for pencil portraits while still in high school, and her world revolved around her art until she entered college and realized that she'd also need to be able to make a living. Fortunately she also enjoyed computer science, so she earned both degrees concurrently. She went on to earn a master's degree in computer science studying computer graphics--the intersection of art and computer science--with the goal of writing software for animated features and special effects, and worked on "Antz" and "Shrek" at PDI/Dreamworks. But software engineering is all-consuming, so there was no time, or no energy, or both, for art for the next 25+ years.
Finally the urge to return to art became too strong to ignore, so in 2010 she took the first steps toward transitioning her career back to art for the next 25+ years.
She is inspired by combinations of resilience and beauty in nature and in people, and strives to engage the viewer in a longer, closer look to see these in her subjects. She works primarily in graphite and colored pencil; they offer the degree of control she requires to pull the viewer in closer for details. She also draws portraits on commission; she enjoys the challenge of creating a true likeness.
Shows and awards:
All Student Art Show, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO 1982 (3rd place)
UArt 2010, San Jose, CA 2010
You can e-mail Denise at info@cpsa210.org
