Forest Bathers is a collection of paintings created over the past few years, with a primary focus on color relationships and ecology. Forest bathing, a practice from Japan, focuses on spending time among the trees to relax the mind and allow nature to expand one's senses. Making, as well as viewing art, can evoke a similar experience—promoting calm and interconnection with other lifeforms. It can embed me in a place, even if it is created or imagined.

My process often begins without a clear plan. I prefer to discover my compositions through layering and chance. My gestures, inspired by a love for plants and animals, create compositions informed by both observation of the natural world and an inner creative process. Can a brush stroke be an abstraction, a recognizable thing, and a feeling all at once? I strive to create works that are both harmonious and destabilizing, striking a balance between coherence and chaos. 
—Sean Howe

Sean Howe is an artist, educator, and museum worker who has exhibited work in the Bay Area, Seattle, Los Angeles and Madrid, Spain. Originally from Washington State, he often includes elements of the northwest in his paintings—it's common to see a frog, tree, mountain and whale in one composition. Through explorations of color and form, his work plumbs the sheer abundance of life, seeking a dynamic balance between terrain, animal and plant. Sean currently lives in Oakland, California with his partner, newborn baby and two dogs.