Danny Howes is one of Birmingham’s foremost realist painters documenting contemporary life in the region with his retro-tinged oil paintings. From the backstreets of Newtown to Gas Street Basin, he brings beauty to the mundane.
How would you describe your style?
I can best describe my work as ‘expressive realism’. I like to paint people and things as I see them and often use photographs as reference but I’m not concerned with producing a purely photo-realistic image – I try to communicate emotion and atmosphere by defining and moulding the textures and surfaces I see using paint. Oil paint can be smooth and delicate or thick and lumpy and dragged and manipulated across the canvas, I absolutely love this as the paint itself then becomes as important a part of the process as the subject. Hopefully this texture and impasto engages the viewer and helps communicate the intention of the piece.
What attracts you to painting the people and streets of Birmingham?
I think of Birmingham as a wonderfully blended city with its huge cultural, economic and social mix of citizens and visitors. Like all big cities there are good and not so good aspects to life here, all of which are a steady source of inspiration. The constantly evolving architecture is also quite fascinating and serves as a backdrop for many of my paintings.
What attracts you to your subjects?
My main subject matter is people. From a purely physical aspect it’s all about the human form, the lines and shapes of our bodies and faces, the way skin absorbs, reflects and refracts light all at the same time, it’s all fascinating to me. Then from an existential perspective it’s about whom we are, our experiences, how we live and work, even mundane activities, the unguarded moments where we reveal our true selves – this is the vast majority of my subject matter.
Any upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?
I’m working on some new portraits and head studies of local people incorporating themes around angels and statues which will be ready in the spring.
Image credits: Some of the above images were part of the recent Nicklin Revisited exhibition at Reuben Colley Fine Art in Colmore Row. This group painting show was inspired by photographs taken by Phyllis Nicklin between 1952 and 1969.
The original images are used with the permission of the University of Birmingham.
