Meet Howard Neville of Nevillestudio in Grand County

Today we’d like to introduce you to Howard Neville.

According to Thomas Heart Benton to be an artist is a wonderful life if you can survive the first forty years. Its this idea that separates art from most businesses. Well the forty years have gone by pretty quick. I did take time to get a degree in art, became an art therapist and attend commercial art school. From a very young age I was an artist even though I didn’t understand what that meant at the time. Public school teachers were the only support system I had. My home state is Colorado because of my different experiences with people they became the theme of my art. I did some scenery work along the way too. Two-dimensional art is a cheaper way for a young artist. As I got older the three-dimensional part of my art was influenced by my father’s business, he was a builder. With each personality comes with it a range of stories> 

For instance, researching Glenn Miller’s trombone I contacted Selmar Trombone to see if they had any old pictures of trombones from the thirties like the one Glenn Miller might have used. And they told me they had nothing to do with Glenn Miller or his famous trombone. In the archives in Boulder I found a receipt slip from Selmar addressed to Glenn Miller but he had denied delivery of it because they would have charged him an extra 1.50.

 During my work on Jack Kerouac three gay gentlemen came into my studio where I was working on the statue in the final stages. They said hello and one took out a camera and the other two started stroking him and kissing the statue only because he was extremely handsome! Similar stories of my interactions with people are too numerous to mention. 

In the nineties a Denver based catholic organization sent an interpreter and myself to Italy for a month to start researching one of Italy’s Incorruptibles. My father and I had talked very little about where I was going and what my project was until I returned from Italy. He took the conversation over then and told me about a small town in the mountains of Italy. He not only knew where it was going but also what it represented. His company of soldiers were sent there to protect the nun and the medieval church in World War II from the looting German soldiers. A strange emotion passed through me as I listened to him tell me where I had gone and what my project was about. We finally had something in common. Then on the layover on my way back in Amsterdam a couple of heavily armed soldiers escorted me to a small room with the x-rays. When they opened the security door he spoke up saying “this is the one” the employees in the room bust out laughing. They had picked up my clay body parts enclosed in a box in the x-ray scanner and had shut down the airport thinking it was something nefarious! These extreme stories have continued and so has my work. I guess that’s how to build a business.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I had a limited support system growing up. It was mostly my school teachers who encouraged me to create art and follow my passions. My father couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to be a builder like him. Being the oldest, I was supposed to inherit the business and art was all I wanted to do. 

Please tell us more about your art.
I am an artist that works with many different methods and materials. My main focus is bronze sculptures of famous and interesting people. I focus on art that centers around people and their fascinating lives and stories. I also paint and utilize other materials such as stone, metal and fiberglass.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Among my supporters is my youngest son who inspires me with his continuous innovation. And my lead college art professor Jack Hughes.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 9705310499
• Email: hneville_2001@yahoo.com
• Instagram: @nevillestudio
• Facebook: Neville Studio

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