JD Howell spent most of his early life drawing/painting and eventually went to university for fine-art. For a brief time after graduating he wanted to be an interior designer, but changed his mind when he discovered the camera. He hung up his brushes and put painting on the back-burner in 2005 then spent the next 17 years focusing on photography and film making.

Since childhood he has been drawn to the beauty lying dormant in the textures of discarded everyday objects. His practice is predominantly focused on collecting overlooked bits and pieces and juxtaposing them to create new narratives.

In 2022 JD's key focus came back painting while also working with photographic collage, mixed media assemblage, and woodworking. He designs compositions derived of unexpected/forgotten items and challenges that such formations can be beautiful. This approach has become a quest for transmutation that drives him towards the next visual challenge: turning rust into marble or a stain into a pattern – creating an appealing but surprising layer to build a visual story, or perhaps a new physical product.

In October 2020 he went back to life drawing to help strengthen his confidence with the brush. His recent series titled Molten can be found here.