Utah man creates religious-themed paintings, video game art

(Howard Lyon)


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Editor's note:KSL.com does a weekly feature on artists in the community. If you have a painter, sculptor, musician or creative genius in mind, feel free to email your submission to fjolley@ksl.com. Please include a contact email for the artist, if available.AMERICAN FORK — Whether he’s painting or pushing pixels, making a religious piece or fantasy art, Howard Lyon seeks to uplift and inspire other people with his work.

Lyon, a Mesa, Arizona, native living in American Fork, discovered his passion for art alongside his introduction to the game "Dungeons and Dragons" at age 11. The fantasy role-playing game quickly captured his imagination for its rich artwork more than the storytelling and strategy.

“I spent more time drawing the creatures and characters than I did actually playing. Looking through the art contained in the books, it dawned on me that someone out there was creating fantasy art as a career,” Lyon said.

But his artwork wasn’t all trolls and dragons. He was deeply touched by religious art at an early age, too.

“When I was 12 and told my parents that I wanted to be an artist, my mom said that she had a friend that was an artist and arranged for me to go meet him,” he said. “I went into his studio and saw all of this wonderful art he was creating. Some of it was religious and some was western and there was even some illustration work. I was amazed at the way the different work made me feel. I was drawn into the textures and detail on the western art and facility of the illustration, but the religious work evoked a strong response of awe and peace. That really stuck with me and it was in the back of my mind that someday I wanted to try and create something like that. The artist that my mother knew was Greg Olsen, who of course is a wonderful artist and very generous with his knowledge and experience.”

Painting steps from last night's sitting. 3 hours, 8"x10" oil. "Jason". #art #painting #oilpainting

A video posted by Howard Lyon (@howardlyonart) on

Lyon went on to attend Brigham Young University, where he studied in the illustration program. Before he finished his degree, however, he got a job working at a video game company and ended up staying in the video game industry, later working as an art director.

“I never intended to remain in the industry, though I grew up loving video games so it wasn’t a foreign world to be part of,” he said. “I ended up working in various roles in the industry over the next 12 years. I enjoyed the work but it wasn’t what I originally set out to do so I made the transition to freelance illustration. My first freelance job was doing work for 'Dungeons and Dragons.' It was definitely a highlight and felt like I had come full circle, taking me back to that moment when I was 11 looking though the D&D books.”

In addition to the "Dungeons and Dragons" world, he's created art for "World of Warcraft" cards, "Magic the Gathering," and "Star Wars" products.

His university education may have been put on pause in the early years of his career — he’s in the process of completing the final course in his illustration studies at BYU — but he never stopped learning. He and his wife, Shari Lyon, travel with the purpose to study art, and he recently studied at the Grand Central Atelier in New York. Lyon also teaches professional art instruction and workshops, sharing his passion for art, experience, and knowledge with others.

"A Thread of Faith" (Photo: Howard Lyon)
"A Thread of Faith" (Photo: Howard Lyon)

Lyon continues to create fantasy art, but he’s also deliberately creating religious art. His religious work has won awards across Utah, gaining attention for his detailed work. In 2015, two 4-by-15-foot murals he painted were hung in the Gilbert, Arizona LDS temple baptistery and the LDS Church and the Catholic Digest publication have used his work on covers. His art has been included in exhibitions at the LDS History Museum, Joseph Smith Memorial Building and the Springville Museum of Art.

This all seems on-brand for Lyon, who said he creates as a way to put more beauty in the world.

“I think there is enough in this world that reminds us of the darkness out there, or negativity…” he said. “I want to uplift and inspire. I try to do this with all of my work — fantasy, religious or other. The great works of the past push me do this. ...When I stand in front of a masterpiece, it shows me the greatness that can be achieved by humanity. It is a foil against the terrible news that sometimes makes me feel like people can be animals. Art can be a bulwark against those feelings.”

Find Howard Lyon here →


![Celeste Tholen](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2588/258877/25887704\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Celeste Tholen --------------------------------

Celeste is the former Deputy Managing Editor at KSL.com and now works in marketing. She spends most of her spare time balancing conflicting interests in the outdoors and movies/television.You can follow Celeste on Twitter: @CelesteTholen

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