Eric Bowman doesn’t care about details. His paintings are not meant to be a historical record of ranching. Or the American West. In fact, he’s not even a cowboy. From clouds and cliffs, figures and foliage, the Oregon-based artist is in it for the physical qualities of paint and the power of good design. To this end, his mark-making is rich and rhythmic, his forms gestural.
Desert Sky, oil, 40 x 42”
Working in oil, Bowman’s paintings are at once luminous and grainy—something akin to an old Polaroid, alpenglow, or the rosy hue of a long-spent memory just before it fades away. Combining figures and landscapes, his compositions are thoroughly considered. If you care about negative shapes, you’ll appreciate the attention he pays to them. If you don’t, you’ll still reap the benefits of an action-packed canvas with room to rest the eye.
New Mexican, oil, 50 x 42”
Like the canyons themselves, the individual elements in Bowman’s paintings echo one another. A horse shares muscular qualities with the hills behind it while clouds and flora feel like they’re dancing to the same song. Next to his penchant for painting twilight, Bowman’s playful interpretation of sagebrush is an instant calling card.
“It’s so fine and wiry, you know. I don’t want to paint every little twig. It’s just too much information. It was hard at first because that—over any other element painting outdoors—was the thing that I needed to solve the most,” he says. “I mean, mountains, canyons, clouds, all of those things already have a lot of leeway as far as how you can depict them and stylize them.” Since he’s “solved” the visual problem of sagebrush, they serve as lyrical—even whimsical—companions to his often-solo riders.
The Conversation, oil, 40 x 48”
“It’s a lonesome job for the most part,” Bowman says of the cowboy way of life. “In the mountains you can be alone in nature for days on end. And I like that wide open space, kind of romantic, iconic version of the cowboy. I think everybody can kind of fantasize about that—especially if they work in a cubicle or something—wishing they were somewhere else.”
Passers By, oil, 40 x 36”
As an illustrator turned easel painter, Bowman is used to depicting characters of many vocations like jazz musicians, bakers and dancers. His foray into Western art started in 2016 when a one-off cowboy painting caught his now gallerist’s eye.
“I was just exploring different, new genres,” says Bowman. “I did a small portrait of a cowboy and posted that on social media. Beau saw it and invited me to be in his small works show,” he says of his introduction to Beau Alexander of Maxwell Alexander Gallery. While he had been following Bowman’s “stylized, otherworldly depictions of the American landscape” for a while, Alexander says, the timing hadn’t been right to invite him to a show before.
High Country, oil, 36 x 42”
“One day he put out a great portrait of a weathered man close up, and the stars aligned,” Alexander remembers. “He was able to create in the figure what attracted us to his landscapes—his own voice in a forward-looking style with an homage to the past.”
The cowboy piece sold before making it out of the framers, Bowman says, and Alexander offered for him to throw another painting in the show. “I said sure,” Bowman laughs. “I didn’t have one, but I came up with one real quick. He sold that and then it just started a chain of doing Western-themed art. It’s been a good niche for me because I enjoy painting outdoors. And then putting cowboys or Indians in them now has become like a perfect marriage of two subject matters.”
Over a year in the making and his most ambitious solo show to date, Bowman brings his brand of Western art to Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles on September 9. The show, titled More to the Picture,will include 15 new works, many with cowboys and Indigenous figures backed by the sun-kissed deserts of the Southwest.
Transendence, oil, 48 x 36”
“I grew up in Southern California and my grandparents kept a trailer out in Palm Springs. I’ve always had an affinity for the desert, so most of my paintings have to do—as far as the setting goes—with the Southwest as opposed to the Northwest, where I live,” he says. “I think there’s more mystery in the desert, and there’s more visually that I can work with—with bluffs and canyons and sand dunes—all of that. You know, I like the sunshine too,” he laughs, attributing the dearth of artist colonies in the Pacific Northwest to the region’s gloomy weather.
Vantage Point, oil, 24 x 28”
In their seven-year working relationship, “Eric has continued to explore new compositions and subjects all while staying true to his ability to navigate landscapes,” Alexander tells us. “For me, the difference between a good artist and a great artist is consistency. Bowman’s consistent quality and self-editing has led to his growth in popularity, but also in his ability to create higher level artworks.”
“Eric is a true artist. He’s arranged his life around art. His studio is on his home property. He wakes up every morning and goes to work. It’s not a financially driven endgame, it’s an artist drive,” says Alexander. “Those are the artists that I’m most attracted to—the ones that eat and breathe [art] and are not worried about the outside noise that comes along with it.”
Eric Bowman painting outdoors. Image courtesy the artist.
Bowman considers this his best body of work to date, and in his signature style, the paintings leave room for the viewer to write their own ending. “You lose the audience if they can’t participate and use their imagination,” says Bowman. “Then you know I’m not doing my job.”
More to the Picture is on view at Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles through October 7. —
Eric Bowman: More to the Picture
September 9-October 7, 2023
Maxwell Alexander Gallery, 406 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 275-1060, www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
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