NORMA HOWARD (American, late 20th century). Picking Cotton, 2011, Watercolor on paper. Signed and dated lower left hand corner. Framed. Not examined out of frame. - 5 x 7 in; frame: 16 x 14 in Estimate $900-1,500
Self-taught watercolorist Norma Howard touches the heart with poignan stories of her Choctaw and Chickasaw ancestors in Oklahoma. She transports you to an earlier time by capturing moments of everyday life - a grandmother stitching a star quilt on a porch, or a boy fishing with a cane pole at a cypress-filled lake. Her style recalls the pointillism of the Impressionists, but instead of dots, she painstakingly layers tiny, basket-weave brush strokes to produce a vibrant depth of color rarely seen with watercolors. Howard, who started by painting miniatures, has moved to larger canvases that demand countless strokes to achieve her trademark richness of color and detail.
"These subjects about how people survived in hard times and in everyday life that every tribe can relate to, wherever they lived. People tell me it's the details that draw them into my paintings and capture their feelings. My inspiration will always be to tell my ancestors' story and honor the way they lived" says Howard.
