Norma Howard (1958- )

Norma Howard (1958- ) is a Choctaw-Chickasaw painter from the small town of Stigler, Oklahoma.  Raised by a poor family in a small rural community, Howard began drawing and painting at a young age using whatever items she could find.  In a 1970 interview with Native Arts magazine, she recalled finding inspiration from an unlikely source: A View-Master.  “I’d look and see how pretty things were, and I decided that when I got older I’d paint like you’re looking through a View-Master—something that was real like you could touch it,” Howard said.  She never received any formal artistic training, instead developing her own unique style of watercolor painting. She uses short, cross-hatched strokes and works in multiple layers to give her images an uncommon sense of realism and depth.  Her paintings, most of which depict scenes of everyday Choctaw life, are featured in museums and prominent private collections around the country.