eleventh.transmission
PROFILE
The Texture of Trees
an artist profile by Lia Robinson
featuring the art of Chris Bowman
Click on each image for a larger version.
What attracts me to Chris Bowman’s art is more than a love of trees, (the subject of a recent series of
paintings); it is the colours and depth that make the subject look as though it is moving, as if caught in a
moment of feeling and light. The unassuming man who sits with me to discuss his artistic story uses the
term ‘psychological landscapes’ to describe his works. Yes, the subjects are often trees, deserts and rolling
hills, but only describing them as landscapes would devalue them; they are truly character portraits of a
specific object in the landscape. His paintings are detailed abstracts of familiar objects. Chris’s paintings
make me realize how alive and dynamic the world truly is.
On the beginning of it all
Chris began painting at 3 years old, but unlike many of us who put the finger paints away, he continued to
create art, putting acrylic paint on canvas and easel at 8 years old. He attended regular high school in Calgary,
his birthplace, and twice decided not to attend the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD). He worked with
an artist in Kensington in the Junior High years, but besides this mentoring received no formal art training.
This left him without the typical connections fostered in the artistic circle at ACAD. He has relied on self
promotion, though he does not overly enjoy it. This promotion began with murals and paintings in city office
lobbies in 1999 and 2000. These days his art is exhibited in galleries in Vancouver, Toronto, San Francisco,
and Saskatoon, which allows him to concentrate less on promotion and more on developing the art itself.
Although breaking into the Calgary art scene was slow, he continues to get exposure, recently attending an
opening of his art in New York, where he was described as creating art that dealt with good and evil, demons
and darkness.
On Calgary and the Culture of Art
There is culture in Calgary; one just has to look a little harder to find it than one might in Toronto or Montreal.
This pertains to art as well, and is a challenge Chris faces in selling his work. He finds that many buy art for
its function rather than out of a feeling and appreciation for a particular piece. As a result galleries often walk a
fine line between displaying art at the margins and showing art with a commercial feel. While he does feel
there is a place for his art in Calgary, he finds the art culture is stronger in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and
especially San Francisco. In the latter city, he finds the appreciation for art is infectious and there is more
interest in edgier art. Although there are more artists in larger centres, he still feels there is room for him
because of the attitude to art in general. It is easier to break into a scene in a bigger city where artists and non-
artists share a contagious energy that inspires him to paint.
On inspirations and influences
No artist can escape the Impressionists; their art was extremely influential and even edgy in their time. Seurat
was a French impressionist artist who was known for his technique of pointillism which creates the subject
through dotting colour on canvas the way our eyes create forms from colour and light. Chris’s technique has
some similarities to Seurat in that he begins with a dot of coloured paint and layers it to create colours and
subjects on the canvas. Chris prefers German and Russian expressionist art and the abstractionist artists
that came after the 1920s. He appreciates the art of Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian abstract artist who also
wrote about colour and form and compared art to music.
On Goals and Focus
At 25 years old and serious about art for over 10 years, Chris does not procrastinate when it comes to his
work. He strives to develop as an artist and concentrates heavily on positive and negative space in his
paintings in order to give the subject its proper space and contrast. He feels he must satisfy his own vision of
the piece despite what is popular among buyers. While he is content to stay in Calgary, travelling affords him
time in other cities. Eventually he thinks he might like to move south to a city that is warmer in climate and in
culture. For now, he is working on water colours for galleries in Vancouver and Toronto, and preparing new
material for a show in March.
Author Bio
Lia Robinson is originally from BC and spent many years travelling and working in locales such as England,
Geneva, Montreal and Victoria, before settling in Calgary to finish her undergraduate degree. Currently
working at a local non-profit organization, Lia continues to travel when she can and otherwise enjoys writing,
music and photography
The Texture of Trees
an artist profile by Lia Robinson
featuring the art of Chris Bowman
Click on each image for a larger version.
What attracts me to Chris Bowman’s art is more than a love of trees, (the subject of a recent series of
paintings); it is the colours and depth that make the subject look as though it is moving, as if caught in a
moment of feeling and light. The unassuming man who sits with me to discuss his artistic story uses the
term ‘psychological landscapes’ to describe his works. Yes, the subjects are often trees, deserts and rolling
hills, but only describing them as landscapes would devalue them; they are truly character portraits of a
specific object in the landscape. His paintings are detailed abstracts of familiar objects. Chris’s paintings
make me realize how alive and dynamic the world truly is.
On the beginning of it all
Chris began painting at 3 years old, but unlike many of us who put the finger paints away, he continued to
create art, putting acrylic paint on canvas and easel at 8 years old. He attended regular high school in Calgary,
his birthplace, and twice decided not to attend the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD). He worked with
an artist in Kensington in the Junior High years, but besides this mentoring received no formal art training.
This left him without the typical connections fostered in the artistic circle at ACAD. He has relied on self
promotion, though he does not overly enjoy it. This promotion began with murals and paintings in city office
lobbies in 1999 and 2000. These days his art is exhibited in galleries in Vancouver, Toronto, San Francisco,
and Saskatoon, which allows him to concentrate less on promotion and more on developing the art itself.
Although breaking into the Calgary art scene was slow, he continues to get exposure, recently attending an
opening of his art in New York, where he was described as creating art that dealt with good and evil, demons
and darkness.
On Calgary and the Culture of Art
There is culture in Calgary; one just has to look a little harder to find it than one might in Toronto or Montreal.
This pertains to art as well, and is a challenge Chris faces in selling his work. He finds that many buy art for
its function rather than out of a feeling and appreciation for a particular piece. As a result galleries often walk a
fine line between displaying art at the margins and showing art with a commercial feel. While he does feel
there is a place for his art in Calgary, he finds the art culture is stronger in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and
especially San Francisco. In the latter city, he finds the appreciation for art is infectious and there is more
interest in edgier art. Although there are more artists in larger centres, he still feels there is room for him
because of the attitude to art in general. It is easier to break into a scene in a bigger city where artists and non-
artists share a contagious energy that inspires him to paint.
On inspirations and influences
No artist can escape the Impressionists; their art was extremely influential and even edgy in their time. Seurat
was a French impressionist artist who was known for his technique of pointillism which creates the subject
through dotting colour on canvas the way our eyes create forms from colour and light. Chris’s technique has
some similarities to Seurat in that he begins with a dot of coloured paint and layers it to create colours and
subjects on the canvas. Chris prefers German and Russian expressionist art and the abstractionist artists
that came after the 1920s. He appreciates the art of Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian abstract artist who also
wrote about colour and form and compared art to music.
On Goals and Focus
At 25 years old and serious about art for over 10 years, Chris does not procrastinate when it comes to his
work. He strives to develop as an artist and concentrates heavily on positive and negative space in his
paintings in order to give the subject its proper space and contrast. He feels he must satisfy his own vision of
the piece despite what is popular among buyers. While he is content to stay in Calgary, travelling affords him
time in other cities. Eventually he thinks he might like to move south to a city that is warmer in climate and in
culture. For now, he is working on water colours for galleries in Vancouver and Toronto, and preparing new
material for a show in March.
Author Bio
Lia Robinson is originally from BC and spent many years travelling and working in locales such as England,
Geneva, Montreal and Victoria, before settling in Calgary to finish her undergraduate degree. Currently
working at a local non-profit organization, Lia continues to travel when she can and otherwise enjoys writing,
music and photography
Arts, Culture, Media, Activism
| November 2006 - Issue 8 |
| Life |
| Lucid Dream |
A Day in the Life
An artistic lifestyle may sound glamorous, but a day in the life of this
artist is a quiet day. Painting can be all consuming, and his working
hours do not often coincide with his friends’ nine to five jobs. He
primarily works at night, when the world has gone silent, a time that
lends itself to introspection, which creates a space for ideas to
dissolve into paint. The ideas themselves begin long before dusk on
an average day; one idea may take two to six years before it becomes
a reality on canvas. Chris starts with some sketches on paper, and
may leave the painting itself in transition until the idea finishes
fermenting and he sees the end in sight. Just like any task, the
challenge occurs with where to begin. Chris has an idea and a view
of what he wants it to become, but the knowledge of how to get there
can be frustratingly absent. He may start with many sketches before
the inspiration comes over him. Even though he may not have
attended an art school, when faced with an inspirational block he falls
back on the basics, drawing lines of perspective, replicating other
drawings until his vision clears, and the subject takes form at the end
of his brush. This “artist’s block” can bring on a fair amount of stress,
sleepless mornings and drowsy nights at the easel. At any given
moment he will have five to ten paintings in various stages of
completion in his studio in order not to be frustrated with one
painting, allowing him the flexibility to work on another painting until
the other painting becomes “unblocked” or a new idea emerges.
Another technique of inspiration and distraction is to always have one
painting of abstract art on the go, splashes of colour without form or
patterns. Chris does not start his paintings by mixing colours on a
palette. He starts with four base colours and mixes them on the
canvas, creating new colours. Usually two of those base colours are
red and white, and then he brings in other colours, consciously
painting repeatedly colour over colour. It might begin with a line of
blue, then yellow, then red, continually building texture and rich, multi-
dimensional colours. He does not know when he will end one series;
quite often one series evolves out of existing subject matter.
| Clutching Onto Something |
On Oil
Oil paint is often touted as the
“must have” medium in the
creation of great paintings, but
Chris would disagree. Acrylic
is his chosen tool, because it
often looks like oil, but without
the varnish and chemicals
required with oil paint. Oil
paint is high maintenance,
sometimes taking a year to
fully dry which makes it difficult
to produce an end product in
time for a show. Chris’s art is
textured and layered, a
method that would be spoiled
with oil paint. He contends
that acrylic is just as good if
not better than oil.
Oil paint is often touted as the
“must have” medium in the
creation of great paintings, but
Chris would disagree. Acrylic
is his chosen tool, because it
often looks like oil, but without
the varnish and chemicals
required with oil paint. Oil
paint is high maintenance,
sometimes taking a year to
fully dry which makes it difficult
to produce an end product in
time for a show. Chris’s art is
textured and layered, a
method that would be spoiled
with oil paint. He contends
that acrylic is just as good if
not better than oil.
| Prelude |
| Sweet June |
Chris spent 4 years in Indonesia as a child. Here he
gained an appreciation for Asian culture; indeed his
art often has a slightly Asian feel, an indelible
impression of this childhood osmosis of Indonesian
culture. Having spent holidays hiking on Vancouver
Island, he is impressed by the forests of gigantic
trees and complex scenery which play a pivotal part in
his current art series.
Calgary seems an unlikely place to inspire Chris’s
deep and colourful art, a city of tall, grey buildings and
sharp edges, but it is where his art began. The urban
man-made hills of overpasses and bridges inspire
curves and rolling, textured forms. When he did a
series from a trip to Europe, it was still urban
inspired, although that series was made up of
character studies of windows and staircases.
gained an appreciation for Asian culture; indeed his
art often has a slightly Asian feel, an indelible
impression of this childhood osmosis of Indonesian
culture. Having spent holidays hiking on Vancouver
Island, he is impressed by the forests of gigantic
trees and complex scenery which play a pivotal part in
his current art series.
Calgary seems an unlikely place to inspire Chris’s
deep and colourful art, a city of tall, grey buildings and
sharp edges, but it is where his art began. The urban
man-made hills of overpasses and bridges inspire
curves and rolling, textured forms. When he did a
series from a trip to Europe, it was still urban
inspired, although that series was made up of
character studies of windows and staircases.
| Introspection |
| Gouge Away |
On Finding Chris Bowman
Chris Bowman’s art can
currently be found in
Harrison Galleries (709A 11
Ave SW). On Thursday
November 9, they will host a
one night reception with
Chris from 5 – 8 pm as a
small introduction to his art.
Chris believes that people
in Calgary should go out
and view gallery art more
often, not necessarily with
the intent to buy, but merely
to enjoy. If you cannot make
it to this event, his art will be
on Harrison Galleries’ walls
for a few months, allowing
for alternate and repeated
viewings. I encourage you
to view these amazing
pieces; it is well worth the
trip down to the design
district.
Chris Bowman’s art can
currently be found in
Harrison Galleries (709A 11
Ave SW). On Thursday
November 9, they will host a
one night reception with
Chris from 5 – 8 pm as a
small introduction to his art.
Chris believes that people
in Calgary should go out
and view gallery art more
often, not necessarily with
the intent to buy, but merely
to enjoy. If you cannot make
it to this event, his art will be
on Harrison Galleries’ walls
for a few months, allowing
for alternate and repeated
viewings. I encourage you
to view these amazing
pieces; it is well worth the
trip down to the design
district.
| The Bohemian |