Leslie Bowen
Leslie Bowen
Spring Flowers
“I fell in love with art as a high school student at Cushing Academy, and went on to major in art history at McGill University. As a student at McGill, I interned in the registrar’s office of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. After I graduated, I worked at the Alpha Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston for a number of years, and it was there that I first immersed myself in the art world and began collecting paintings of artists I liked.
Working in the gallery gave me a close up view of what it was like to be an artist and a chance to see works up close by some modern American masters, including Milton Avery and Fairfield Porter. I prefer representational painting in general and find the way they simplify form and color appealing. I also admire the work of more contemporary painters working in the same tradition, like Tim Tait.
Eventually, what I admired in the works of others made me want to paint too! Over the years, I have studied with various teachers, taking courses locally at the DeCordova Museum, Mass Art, RISD, and with individual artists. When I retired in 2021, I began to paint more regularly and joined the Dedham Art Association. Most recently, I have been studying online in a small group workshop with Jean Kondo Weigl through the Firelands Association for the Visual Arts (FAVA) in Oberlin, Ohio, and with Shelby Dillon Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.
My husband and I have a home on Achill Island in Ireland, and the landscapes there are a favorite subject of mine. Just gazing out the window of our cottage can make you want to get out and paint! The changing light and weather conditions are as much a subject as the scene itself. Many artists, including Paul Henry, Robert Henri, and Camille Souter, have found inspiration for their art on Achill Island.
In my own work, I try to create a sense of believable light through the expressive use of color. I’m inspired by the beauty I see around me, whether an expansive view of sea and mountains or a simple bouquet of flowers in a vase. I like to paint loosely, and quickly, to create energy and movement in my painting. I love the physicality of paint and want my paint and brushstrokes to show my hand in making the painting.”