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Joie de vivre! with Khristian Howell

19 January 2010 One Comment

Khristian Howell

She winces when telling us her age, but at just 29 years old Khristian Howell has accomplished more creatively than many of us will do in a lifetime. For four years Howell designed and analyzed color for the Nordstrom private kidswear label. Today this New Orleans native is living in Atlanta and has recently launched an online shop of original photographs and stretched canvas prints. She recently produced a canvas to help raise money for earthquake ravaged Haiti.

NewNaturalista: What strikes me most about your photography and your art work is the simplicity of it. Is that your intent?

Howell: Absolutely! My goal when I take photos is to capture a moment in time. There are so many picturesque moments happening each day all around us that make up the canvas that is life. We are all constantly overstimulated today. I love to force the viewer to slow down and really drink in all that is happening around us.

NewNaturalista: You describe some of your prints as “modern images with a sense of romantic grace.” Explain a bit more about that idea?

Howell: I really love the clean, smooth lines of modern art, but I never want my work to seem cold. I think there is a real beauty in the simple. Paring these elements with rich, vibrant warm color stories keeps it all very attainable.

NewNaturalista: Under your photos you write “not altered or photoshopped.” Tell us why that is important to you?

Howell: For me when I am shooting it is all about the moment as I see it. I want others to feel what I am feeling as I stand in the spot. For what I am trying to convey, I feel there is no reason to change or attempt to enhance what is naturally beautiful.

NewNaturalista: What/who/where do you like photographing the most?

Howell: I love photographing Europe of course, but any new place is always fun. I think I really love Europe because there is a real sense of history there. The cities, buildings streets all have a story to tell. These places speak to you through the old cracks in buildings and old cobblestoned alleyways etc. – its enchanting.

NewNaturalista: It’s evident you LOVE French culture. What do you love most about it, and how has it influenced your aesthetic?

Howell: Oh the French obsession….Well I think a part of it is being from New Orleans, its just in my blood. Bigger than that is I really just love the philosophy of the Mediterranean life. Eat slow, love slow, laugh lots, live long. I love the joie de vivre attitude. There is just a different rhythm there. I really love the honesty of the French. The fact that I could live from olives, good cheese and good wine forever doesn’t hurt.