Intricate Geometric Designs: Painting by Howard Hastie
Unknown Star Chasers, oil on canvas
Howard Hastie is an oil painter. In his current artistic practice, Howard uses compositions that reflect tapestries, textiles, and intricate geometric designs to produce multidimensional, abstractly narrative artworks.
The Alchemist's Swan Song, oil on canvas
The artist’s influences range from traditional Persian geometric designs to paintings by Mark Rothko, and looking through Howard’s portfolio it’s fascinating to see how inspirations from various time periods combine in his images. There’s something slightly anachronistic about these works -- at first, it’s easy to think that the painting is a textile piece, with small elements of text and symbolic patterning perhaps serving a narrative purpose. The revelation that these are in fact paintings speaks to Howard’s skill with texturing and blending, as well as attention to detail.
I like the way Howard uses colour, as well -- though the artist works through a variety of palettes and hues, there is clear thought put toward colour relationships and combinations, with most of the works retaining a kind of warm, earthy sensibility overall.
