Howard DuBois Art

This East Texas artist is known for his watercolors and oil paintings that feature Texas ranch life and include his love affair with cutting horses, longhorns and rural landscapes. He is particularly admired for his understanding of the contemporary working cowboy. DuBois continually strives for originality and quality in his art work.

Having worked as a graphic artist for several years, Howard is a member of the North East Texas Fine Art Alliance (NETFAA) and the Southwest Watercolor Society. He is available for commissions.

Howard Dubois Bio

Howard was born on a farm in Central Oklahoma in 1942, where he lived with his grandparents. He can still remember his grandfather driving a team of horses to work in the oil fields each day. Occasionally, Howard would ride along with him, sharing the wagon seat. He also enjoyed visits to a nearby rodeo arena. These were the first vague memories of life with horses, recollections which began a love affair with these great animals.

His love of drawing began with art school classes. From that point on, no blank piece of paper was safe, even those in his textbooks. Horses were always the subjects of his sketches.

His family moved to Dallas in 1948, and later, to Fort Worth. In those days, the kids of the neighborhood would gather at the house of a local family and enjoy television shows like Roy Rogers, the Cisco Kid and the Lone Ranger. He then began adding cowboy themes to his art and his goal became like all young boys of the time: to be a cowboy. For a time, his dream of owning a horse remained a dream. His desire to become an artist was also looked upon as foolishness, certainly not something that would earn a man a living.

After a stint in the Army, the first thing DuBois did was buy a horse. Not one to do things halfway, he decided it was time to live out his dreams. It didn't take long before DuBois was riding every horse he could. Without any experience, he landed a part time job breaking colts for a man who raised quarter horses. He was fairly good at it and was able to get other riding jobs as well. His supply of basic necessities (food and shelter) was meager, but he had no complaints. He was in heaven and would have paid to do the work.

The dream of creating art remained in DuBois, but he was at a loss as to how he could fulfill it. He began an art correspondence course that he did not complete. He remembers buying the Western Horseman magazine for the purpose of studying the paintings on the cover and reproducing them. His first glimpse of a horse painting by the western artist Orren Mixer helped him make a firm decision to somehow pursue his artist calling in earnest. However, marriage put his art plans on pause. Art and the cowboy life were put on hold, but his newly created sign painting business fed his creative desire for a few years.

Finding himself single once again in 1984, DuBois decided that he would take an art class in college and focus on his art. With encouragement from his second wife, he began to come to terms with his ability as an artist. One regret he carried is that his father never saw his success as an artist.

Currently, DuBois has a studio and art gallery in East Texas where his work is displayed for the public. Like many of our Texas artists, he enjoys working in both watercolors and oils, as each medium has its own challenge. DuBois' artwork, which has won numerous awards and ribbons, hangs in many public and private art collections in the United States and throughout the world.

For more details about Texas art, or to purchase one of Howard Dubois' art prints, click on any picture below.