Scott Howe is a Los Angeles-based artist, responsible for the murals at Amplifi in Fullerton, CA and the soon to be completed Aurum, in Irvine, CA His art practice is grounded in community and education, having developed a multitude of art pieces for schools around LA. We asked Scott about his background and approach to his art.
1. How did you get into the art world?
First real interest was through hanging out with my skateboard friends and graffiti writers. This opened up an appreciation for self expression and knowing it’s ok to color outside the lines. Everything around us is designed and built by some type of artist, this is my contribution to the world.
2. Community and social impact is a huge part of your work – how does that shape your creative process?
It’s always best to know the environment you’re in and what you can contribute to it. Researching the surrounding elements like plants, trees, buildings, people and culture.
3. What were challenges or opportunities you faced with the Aurum mural and how did you work to solve and achieve them?
The scaffolding was a challenge because you are consistently going level by level throughout the process. Going down to the street level to make sure the design is flowing right and making sure it connects correctly. Once I got a rhythm of the design going, the filling-in of the colors became fun.
4. We’re fortunate to have worked with you in the past for the creation of the mural at Amplifi – how did your approach differ this time with Aurum?
The Amplifi Train was painted with 60′ boom lifts, which made it easier to see the whole wall. Plus painting a train right next to the train tracks was pretty cool, not everyone gets to paint a train that big. The Aurum was scaled and sketched out by using the windows as guides on the different levels. Definitely got me daily steps in by going up and down the scaffolding stairs.
5. What do you hope the impact of the Aurum mural is on residents and the surrounding community?
The design is placed to break up the straight lines of the building and bring a nice fitting element to it. The ultimate goal is to have the community make the connection between the design’s purpose and the Aurum‘s names meaning. Hopes are this will become a conversational piece and a cool Irvine landmark.
Aurum, CA – in progress
For more information on Scott’s work, please check out The Hyste.
