Emma Howell

Artist Biography

Emma Howell is a British painter and creative strategist based in the Cotswolds. She works across still life, landscape, and abstract expressionism to explore memory, longing, healing, and human connection. Her paintings capture everyday moments – from candid café scenes or a solitary chair, to textured Cotswold hills, to abstract marks that evoke emotion. A deep navy might recall a quiet memory or the colour of a gentleman’s jacket, while an earthy green could be a worn road sign or a rolling hill. Through her work, Emma invites viewers to slow down and feel the layers beneath the surface.

After losing her father in 2016, Emma’s art became a way to process grief and connect more deeply with the ordinary. Themes of motherhood, infertility, and solitude quietly inform her practice. Emma holds a First Class BA in Fine Art from the University of Gloucestershire and has exhibited and sold work internationally across Europe, North America, Australia, and the Seychelles. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband Jonathan, daughter Lilah, and their Golden Retriever, Gibson.

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Artist Statement

Painting is where I put what I can’t explain in words. It’s how I process memory, longing, stillness, joy, and the quiet ache of life’s in-betweens. My practice shifts with the season I’m in – sometimes I paint abstract compositions led by intuition and emotion; other times, I find myself pulled to still life or landscape, grounding myself in observation and form.

Each piece begins with a feeling: a pause in conversation, a held breath, a moment I didn’t realise I’d saved. Some paintings arrive softly, others come out rough-edged and urgent – all of them are a way to make sense of being human.

My work holds the parts of life that are hard to name – the quiet longing, the weight of waiting, the beauty in small still moments. I’m drawn to what slips past language but stays with you anyway. During periods of grief and infertility, painting gave shape to the silence, the hope, the grief and the waiting. I’m not searching for answers in my work. I’m searching for raw honesty – the kind that leaves a mark, even in silence.

Open your mind and take my hand.

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Beyond The Canvas: Creative Consultancy

Alongside her painting practice, Emma also works as a creative strategist – helping early-stage business owners, makers, and creatives shape the visual and emotional heart (and soul) of their brand. Whether you’re unsure where to begin, struggling to express what your business feels like, or simply craving clarity, Emma offers intuitive, visually-led guidance to bring your ideas into focus. She helps clients uncover their brand’s colourways, build a visual language, and shape a cohesive identity that actually feels like them.

This offering is ideal for those at the very beginning – where things feel messy, uncertain, or “not quite right.” Through conversation, mood-boarding, colour theory, and soul discovery, Emma helps you clear the fog and start building something beautiful. Enquire