Eric Bowman admits “I never thought I would get into Western art.” His biography at Medicine Man Gallery explains Bowman had “various art-related jobs such as silk screen T-shirt printer or surfboard airbrush technician, which led to a lengthy and successful career as a freelance illustrator…”
Buena Vista, oil, 24 x 24”
“I thought Western art was very highly detailed and very highly researched,” he says, “and I was trying to get away from detail. But then I realized I could do it in my own style. I’ve always had an affinity for the desert. The intense light is balanced with the long shadows of early morning and late afternoon. I wanted to portray the figure on a horse in the landscape—the iconic solitude of the horse and rider.”
Buttermilk Sky, oil, 20 x 24”
Bowman’s horse and rider paintings depict the strong bond between them. In Together We’ll Go, the figures emerge from a dark canyon into the morning sun, danger behind them. The rider leads his horse who may have been spooked by something in the canyon. In Grim Shadows, horse and rider approach potential danger. Raptors circle in the sky behind an ominous rock and the rider has unsheathed his rifle.
His paintings don’t necessarily tell a story but are, in his words, “jumping-off points for a narrative.”
Together We’ll Go, oil on canvas, 24 x 32”
When asked about the inspiration of other artists, he replies, “There are too many. But no matter who you’ve studied with you have to go down the path yourself.”
Bowman’s distinctive painterly style is a careful balance of light and dark, vertical and horizontal, often incorporating an S-curve found naturally in flora and fauna, and which he exaggerates in his landscapes.
Grim Shadows, oil on panel, 16 x 20”
In his preliminary pencil sketches he works out the balance of light and dark, positive and negative space. He refers to the Japanese concept of notan, which means, literally, “light/dark/harmony.” He brings his harmonious compositions to life with an energetic, expressionistic application of paint which, in itself, is a feast for the eye.
Eric Bowman: More to the Picture, an exhibition of his recent work, will be shown at Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, February 12 through March 5. —
Upcoming Show
Up to 12 works
February 12-March 5, 2021
Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery
6872 E. Sunrise Drive, Suite 130, Tucson, AZ 85750,
(520) 722-7798, www.medicinemangallery.com
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