HowellMarks brings energy, emotion and creative discovery to PAVA’s Cool Art Show
Abstract artist Amy Howell paints intuitively, allowing the piece to transform like an evolving puzzle, inviting viewers to personally connect to her art as if listening to music. Inspired by abstract expressionists such as De Kooning, Rauschenberg, and Pollock, her work embodies a similar freedom in color and composition, pushing the boundaries of creative possibility. Along with the influence of these earlier masters, Howell draws inspiration from African and Native American art, evident in the geometric shapes and spiritual storytelling found in her work.
Using palette knives, texture, and vibrant color combinations, Howell creates paintings that convey both energy and tranquility. Her compositions feel architectural, atmospheric, and deeply personal. Inspired by Florida’s coastal light and rich visual landscape, her artwork often suggests themes of reflection, urban rhythms, shifting horizons, and emotional landscapes, rather than depicting fixed locations.
“I create as if solving a puzzle, balancing the elements, letting the image emerge until I feel all the elements resolve, the pieces all fit,” says Howell.
Howell’s dynamic paintings have garnered acclaim and awards at art shows and galleries throughout the Tampa region, including at the Art Festival Beth-El, Gulfport Fine Arts Festival, Five Deuces Galleria, DRV Gallery, Art Expo Gallery, Brenda McMahon Gallery, and fine art collective, ArtJones. Before moving to Florida, she was a frequent exhibitor at the Provincetown Art Association in Provincetown, MA.
Her recent work is influenced by reflection and her concerns about the current social climate. Howell believes that art can be both personal and socially aware, and she is exploring ways to express these tensions through abstract art without making the underlying themes obvious.
Says Howell, “My goal is to create work that invites feeling, thought, and conversation. Art has always been a place where complexity can live without easy answers. My goal is not simply to illustrate issues, but to create work that invites feeling, thought, and conversation.”
As recognition of her work has increased in the region, the number of requests from collectors for commissioned pieces has also grown. Howell finds this trend increasingly aligns with her creative interests.
“I’m especially interested in how large-scale textured paintings can bring warmth, movement, calm, or energy into architectural spaces,” she says. “Commercial spaces offer something unique for artists: the opportunity to create work that becomes part of everyday experiences. Art in hotel lobbies, luxury apartments, healthcare spaces, corporate offices, restaurants, and wellness environments can completely transform how a space feels.”
Earlier in her career, Howell worked as a patient advocate for children facing mental health challenges, as well as a chef and baker. These experiences continue to inform the empathy, intuition, and sensory richness in her work, she says.
“This is perhaps the primary role of my art,” says Howell. “Not to simplify, but to reflect. Not to resolve, but to hold space for what is complex and real. And maybe, in holding that space with honesty and light, we offer something forward—something that quietly, steadily helps move humanity ahead.”
For more information and to shop Howell’s work, visit her online gallery at HowellMarks.art and follow her on social media @howellmarksgallery. Select works are on display at DRV Gallery in Gulfport, and her next show is the 37th Cool Art Show by PAVA at the St. Petersburg Coliseum on July 18th & 19th, 2026.
Studio:
HowellMarks Studio — Gulfport, Florida. Howell’s studio practice focuses on building paintings through layers, texture and intuitive mark-making, allowing each piece to evolve like a visual puzzle.
Website:
HowellMarks
Upcoming Shows:
PAVA’s Cool Art Show — July 18–19, 2026, at the historic St. Petersburg Coliseum. The juried show features artists working across painting, mixed media, ceramics, glass, jewelry and other fine art disciplines.
Where to See Her Work: Selected works are available for viewing at DRV Gallery, as well as through HowellMarks online. Her work has also been featured in regional exhibitions including Art Festival Beth-El, Gulfport Fine Arts Festival and ArtJones.
