Cover Artist - Brittany Lee Howard

BRITTANY LEE HOWARD: ARTIST ALCHEMY

By: Karen B. Gibbs

Baton Rouge-based cover artist Brittany Lee Howard is a woman of passion, and her art mirrors her soul. With dreamy strokes of vibrant colors flowing across the canvas, she simultaneously ignites the imagination and moves the heart with pure artistic alchemy.

“I provide islands of peace with my art,” explains the thirty-eight-year-old Howard. “I don’t have to say a word to touch people.” Part of that peace comes from Brittany’s use of what she calls the golden ratio. “When you look at a piece, there is a focal point, then you have negative space that draws you in. The rest is where your eyes go next. There’s a balance. You’re not overwhelmed. Less is more. There’s so much beauty to be found in restraining yourself. For me, the simpler way is usually the most profound.”

Despite her petite size, Brittany prefers the freedom of working on giant canvases—as large as six feet by six feet. “I use large strokes—alternately layering dark and light tones. Without the dark,” she explains, “you won’t see the light.” Oddly prophetic, this rationale is also a testimony to her own life.

Two years ago, what began as a sore throat escalated into a mysterious infection that landed the artist in ICU for three weeks and necessitated over nine surgeries to keep her alive. “It took a year for me to get my strength back,” says Brittany. Amazingly, as she regained her physical abilities, she experienced a renaissance of talent.

“This brought me deeper into my art,” she explains. “I realized just how fragile life was and wanted to put more joy out there.” Brittany replayed in her mind the powerful words of a nurse who cared for her in the hospital, “There’s a reason you’re still here. I hope you find it and stick with it.”

And find it, she did. Within a month of leaving the hospital, Brittany picked up a paintbrush and began working on a commissioned piece. “Art was very therapeutic, and I’m grateful it was there,” she says. Coincidentally, that first piece was for an ER doctor in Texas. Brittany painted it in various shades of blue—her favorite color.

“Blue is calm, beautiful,” she says, her voice softening as she speaks. “It has always been a favorite color. It comes from me loving the water. As a diver, I’ve noticed that the ocean is a different shade of blue everywhere I go—from Thailand to Bali, Pacific to the Atlantic.” Pensive for a moment, Brittany reminisces about a time, over twenty years ago, when taking diving trips around the world would have been impossible.

“When I entered LSU, I thought I wanted to be a nurse, but the more I studied, the more I hated it,” she begins. Dropping out of nursing school, she moved to Los Angeles. There, she waited tables and tended bar to make ends meet, painting only during her leisure time. It wasn’t long before she was in shows and selling her art. The more she sold, the more she wondered if she could make a living as an artist. Nine years ago, she made the flash point decision of her career— Go for it!

“There’s a quote by Denzel Washington that helped me make my decision,” says Brittany.

“Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.”

“I had to be willing to struggle—to make space in my life for doing art full time. Until I had to rely on my art to survive, I was always thinking that I had to work another job, that I’d need that money. When I quit work nine years ago, everything fell into place. It was a good feeling.”

Since then, with nothing to distract her, Brittany has given art her undivided attention. When she gets “in the zone,” she admits “I just have to paint. I let my life’s experiences come out on their own. I let them come alive.” From playing as a child in her mom’s magnificent flower gardens to diving in exotic deep blue seas, these experiences find expression in her ethereal “Color” and “Into the Deep” series.

Even negative experiences influence her style. “I started painting figures as a way of reconnecting with myself and being okay in my new body,” she explains. Despite being physically scarred, temporarily hairless, and unable to move the right side of her body for a time, Brittany painted figures as a “love gesture to my new self. I loved my body and thanked it for getting me through so much.”

This “Figures” series caught the eye of Dr. Shruti Tannan, a plastic surgeon in Raleigh, North Carolina. “I still remember the first time I saw a video on social media of Brittany Howard painting one of her nude figures in full color.,” says Dr. Tannan. “I thought, I have to have something that beautiful to look at every day. That figure, that woman in the painting looks like she knows herself, she loves herself and she feels free. That is what I strive to do as a female plastic surgeon - help women find that feeling, that confidence, that freedom.”

When Dr. Tannan’s architect asked what inspires her, she sent him a picture of Brittany’s art. “I wanted this work of art to represent what my plastic surgery clinic feels like: clean, crisp and celebrating our curves. Lucky for me, Brittany was willing to do a commissioned piece in this same style. The painting was my anchor during the challenging year of design, permits, and building. And it did not feel complete until Brittany came and installed it herself. I am so incredibly grateful for how Brittany has touched my life, and I am proud to display her work in our space. She elevates and inspires everyone with her art.”

That just may be the key to Brittany’s success. She sees beauty in everything and recreates it in her art. “What’s important about art is that it allows you to surround your life with beauty. That’s something that’s necessary. When you do, you move in a different direction. It transforms you as a person.”

Thousands of Brittany’s paintings grace homes and businesses across the United States and in Australia, England, and Canada. Fans can view Brittany Lee’s latest works at Evolve Salon in Baton Rouge and Meribo Restaurant in Covington. For more information, visit facebook.com/ArtistBrittanyLee or www.BrittanyLeeArt.com