Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcia Lorente Howell.

Hi Marcia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a modern impressionist, I paint landscapes from my life, oil on canvas. I’m the granddaughter of two women painters, one from Kansas City and one from Vinaros, a little town off the Eastern coast of Spain. I’ve painted my entire life, won some award as a kid back in Spain even. I grew up in Madrid and live between San Francisco, New York City and Europe. I’m obsessed with color and with capturing movement and light. My body of work is my postcard collection of all the places I’ve been lucky enough to have walked my dog Elvis in. I take photos with my phone and then capture the feeling of what I saw. If you look closely Elvis is almost always hiding somewhere in the painting. He’s my muse and my best friend.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No it has not been smooth at all! In Spanish we say that God writes straight with crooked sentences. I was a practical young woman and decided to trade my art for a career and I worked in an ad agency for most of my life. 5 years ago I became a full time artist and it’s been hard given the state of the economy but I’m so happy, best decision I ever made. I started my own gallery that supports women artists, Surfergirl Gallery. I found out I don’t need much to live my dream life. It’s also brought me closer to God and family and given me a better sense of my own purpose. I think art is a form of service. A priest told me once there’s three way to serve, action, wisdom and agape, which is the Greek word for love. He said it’s the highest form of service because it requires nothing, just contemplation. That’s what I’m doing, I’m contemplating the world and sharing how beautiful it is and that hopefully is something others see also. I believe heaven is here, if we pay close attention and look. Whenever I get a glimpse of it, I paint it. I have to share it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My specialty is oil on canvas. I like to dilute it a lot, make it look like watercolor almost. I find that a translucent quality gives the art more light. To ensure I can control it a bit, I usually paint with the canvas on the ground like Pollock. This too allows me to work pretty fast, come up with new colors and integrate lucky accidents. More than anything I suppose I’m capturing a moment. So I must do it fast, like Van Gogh did, or else the moment may be over. I think that’s what sets me apart the most. There’s a lack of artificiality to what I do, it feels light and fresh and unrehearsed. Because it’s not. And it’s happy, it’s almost always incandescently happy. I’m the opposite of the tortured artist.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Besides my two grandmothers painters from whom all my talent comes from, I can take no credit, my role models are my parents. Jose Luis and Marcia raised me to believe in my self and my talents. They are not artists and they were always so supportive of my art. Now that I’m older I can really appreciate their faith in me and my art. They had it even when I did not.

Pricing:

• $5,000 for a 30″x40″ original painting
• $3,000 for a 30″x30″ original painting

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marcialorentehowell.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apaintingaweeknyc/

Image Credits
I took the photos myself at my gallery, Surfergirl Gallery, during the recent show “Paradise Found” featuring 13 women artists. The collection is available at SurfergirlNY.com/shop