Although Howard's wood engravings are relatively small in scale, he initially likes to work first on large scale drawings or water colours that he makes on location. Much of his current subject matter is rooted in the chalk downland landscape of Wiltshire and Dorset close to where he lives. He is fascinated by the ancient trackways and striking hill forms, and the idea that these are timeless places on which earlier generations have left their mark.
Howard uses light to reveal the underlying sculptural nature of the landscape, and for him, the great attraction of wood engraving is its unique white line character on a black ground, where one can somehow intensify the effects first observed when drawing.
Howard has a long standing collaboration with Fine Press publishers The Whittington Press, who have published two visual collections of his wood engravings and linocuts.
