Meet John Howler | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Howler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, how do you think about risk?
Risk is big. Risk is huge! I believe that the amount of risk taken has to have an equal or bigger amount of commitment to back it up. In my life, taking the risk to pursue a creative career in lieu of a “stable” job has to be one of the biggest commitments because I am the only one holding myself accountable to create and find work. Some days it’s easy and other days there’s no motivation, but in the long run I know that just showing up (at my desk) and doing my best to put in a little work will help reinforce a healthy habit so that when the muse does happen my way, I am more than prepared to take on the challenge.

Aside from my creative pursuits, I would like to say that not all risks I’ve taken have been fruitful so you also have to know how to pick yourself up when things don’t work out in your favor. It’s definitely challenging, but I believe every failed risk has helped make me more focused for when I start my next adventure.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art has and will hopefully always be evolving. I originally started out my artistic career in animation, but quickly moved towards traditional illustration work. Later on in life, I tried my hand in digital illustration and was immediately hooked! Most of my current work is created digitally but currently I am beginning to pick up traditional painting and falling in love with it again. The journey of a visual artist is never ending and I hope to one day venture into the 3rd dimension and dabble in sculpting as well.

My “professional” journey is a roller coaster ride of taking community college classes, attending an art school that was shut down due to fraud, journeying across the U.S.A. and learning from different communities of artists, and eventually self teaching myself the rest of what I know. I love reading and research and I believe it helped me with my knowledge of art history and technical skills however, part of that self-learning is teaching myself to be more open and cerebral with my work which I feel is the next step in my career.

Was this easy? I can’t say that art is ever “easy” especially the more you dive into it. It is a LOT of work and depending on how you define your success in this trade the work can seem never ending. When I decided to take my art education in my own hands I definitely underestimated depth of the rabbit hole I would soon fall down. There are many doubts, critics, monetary reasons, and many other issues that pop up that scare me into wanting to give up and I would be lying if I said I never gave up! I’ve taken a creative hiatus for years, but in the end the call back was too tempting and now I know that I’m a lifer in the arts, no matter how hard it is.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well first thing’s first, we hit the beach and Oceanside harbor. I would then take you down the 101 and visit such spots as Artist Alley, eat some early morning crepes at Elena’s French Crepes and of course swing by Ikigai Artifacts! Some of my favorite coffee spots are right off the 101 such as Banana Dang!, C0mmunal, Panel’s, and Camp Coffee just to name a few. For lunch definitely Marisco’s Ensenada, Dieberto’s (massive burritos) or Zzang. For dinner you can’t go wrong with Mr. Bibi’s, Umi Japanese Grill, or hop into Carlsbad for some Pizza Port. Can you tell I like to eat?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow where do I start? I believe another key factor in taking risks is setting yourself up in the right environment in order to succeed in which ever endeavor you take.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my ride or die Christian Ortega, without her continued support and motivation I would be years behind in my creative pursuits.

Satoru Yamaki, because without him I wouldn’t be part of the wonderful creative community here in Oceanside. He’s helped to create on of the most supportive communities I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of and his store Ikigai Artifacts Co. has one of those unique voices that makes people of all walks of life gravitate towards the awesomeness within his store.

Quantal Langford has also been a big voice in our community here in Oceanside and he not only serves as a great friend but also as a guide to look up to. If you ever think you don’t have time to do anything then please take 10 minutes of your day to speak with Quantal to find out how a mere 24 hours contains all the many possibilities for you to do what you want.

Besides the aforementioned there are too many people to shoutout that have supported my family and myself in our venture to be independent creatives. These are but a small handful of people otherwise this list would be pages long! I’m going to use their Instagram names so you all can find them as well:
@cold.sweater – amazing artist all around, his work is very captivating.
@rottenjungle – another amazing artist, his work will blow your mind!
@goldiesrecordcompany – business woman and big influence on my family on how to be an amazing person!
@tapatio_desperado – amazing friend and supporter!

rsonalJohnHowl

Website: www.johnhowler.com

Instagram: @johnnyhowler

Twitter: @johnhowler

Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC6hCy-gFIwQdMmhTerWWzdA