Howard Behrens 'The Colors of Giverny' Giclee on Canvas from his 2005 collection.

I feel a tremendous amount of excitement facing a new canvas. This energy comes from the thrill of transforming it into a recollection of my travels to the world's most beautiful and romantic places. As an Expressionist, I paint fast while the passion for the painting is very strong. For me, the paint is the subject matter just as much as the image. I love the juicy chunks of color that I can translate to canvas with my palette knife." --Howard Behrens

For the past 25 years, Howard Behrens, the world's most renowned palette knife artist, has had a romance with the sun. Behrens' motivation comes from his strong passion to capture the "essence" of the places he visits around the world. The artist has been influenced by Monet, Van Gogh and Nicola Simbari, the Italian palette knife artist.

Using the palette knife, Behrens captures not only the softness of clouds, but also the boldness of mountains, the vibrancy of flowers, and the strength of water. Behrens' skill with this instrument has earned him recognition as America's leading palette knife artist.

Behrens has had over 150 one-man shows from coast-to-coast since becoming a professional artist in 1980. His works have been on the covers of many art publications and he has been the featured subject of numerous magazines and newspapers. After visiting Giverny, France, the artist created a "Tribute to Monet" series that was exhibited at the Embassy of France in Washington, D. C. As an official artist for the 2002 Winter Olympics, Behrens' painting, "In Motion," was featured at the games. The artist's works are owned by numerous, well-known collectors and are in the permanent collections of many museums. The most recent Behrens' collectors are former President George Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush.