By Tracey Hall
Meeting Howard Schoor was a unique experience in many ways. The first impression was before we actually met as I entered the building. 603 Mattison Ave, the former Asbury Park Press building, exactly the place where I began my career many years ago. The old girl has been transformed into a thriving hub of businesses, exactly like the town she sits in.
Howard’s studio is up on the third floor and filled with his art, blank canvases, colors, a drafting table and of course, triangles. The drafting table brought me back to the old days in that building and we discussed how things were done by hand, by cut and paste back then. Howard saw the use of hand drawings slip away as the computer came in and designs became digital.
His long career began as an engineer, where the use of a triangle was a necessity. Design was done by hand and a clear vision. This eventually led to a second career as a home builder of quality homes. It struck me that in one of his own homes, he built blank white walls that cried out for artwork. Inspired, this came about as his self education on Modern art fueled the collection.
The love of exhibiting art was a driving factor in one of his home designs in The Catskills. I saw the pictures and Frank Lloyd Wright instantly came to mind. The home was designed around nature and falling water with high windows, natural stones and woods. Inside was a multi level gallery, a perfect home for Howards art collection.
Retirement, if you can call it that, led to moving south to Florida while keeping a home here in Asbury Park. Never one to sit still or watch TV, the idea struck that he was just as capable an artist as some of the artists he collected. In this studio, in the old Press building, Howard uses the old drafting table to create his art. You’ll see that in each piece, triangles appear making it instantly recognizable as one of his creations.
Howard Schoor describes himself now as a Trianglist and artist. The goal? To become a famous artist of course! You can come meet with him and view his pieces at the studio in Asbury Park. There is clear transparency in his pricing as there is in the man himself. Meeting Howard, I came away with a the feeling that he was always this way, in every step of his storied life, thus creating the mantra “It is what it is.”
Read Full Article