Katherine Bowling facts for kids

Katherine Bowling is an American painter born in 1955 in Washington, D.C.. She is famous for her beautiful landscape paintings. She gets ideas for her art from nature, especially around the Hudson Valley.

Early Life and Art School

Katherine Bowling grew up in a place called Tidewater, Virginia. She studied art at Virginia Commonwealth University. She earned her degree there in 1978.

Katherine Bowling had her very first art show in New York in 1987. It was also her first show all by herself!

What Katherine Bowling Paints

Most of Katherine's paintings show landscapes. She often paints woods, fields, and roads. Many of her ideas come from photos she takes. She photographs the woods and fields near a house she rents. This area is in Scholarie County. It is not far from where famous Hudson River School painters found their inspiration.

Roads and Memories

For one art show called Divide, Katherine focused on roads. She sees roads as lines that divide and organize space in a landscape. Even on roads she knows well, she finds new things. These new discoveries change how she sees everyday places. Katherine explains that roads are like a way to think about memories. They also represent moving from one place to another.

Oceans and Light

In 2001, Katherine showed some paintings of the ocean. Even though she usually paints land, these ocean scenes were special. They reminded her of her childhood memories. She spent her first summers by the Atlantic Ocean. She also spent time on the Chesapeake Bay.

Mostly, Katherine's art tries to capture how light and shadows play. Her paintings are like those of famous artists such as Claude Monet. They show quick moments and feelings. You can see sunlight flickering through trees. You can also see shadows changing in the evening. Her paintings also show reflections of clouds on a lake.

Katherine is influenced by how light is used in paintings. She looks at works by European Romantics like J. M. W. Turner. She also likes John Constable and George Inness. Her paintings also remind people of landscapes by Claude Lorraine and Camille Corot.

How Katherine Bowling Creates Her Art

Katherine Bowling is known for using a special material called spackle. She uses many layers of paint and spackle. Then she sands them down. This long process helps her create a "back-lit" effect in her paintings. It makes them look like light is shining from behind.

Starting with Photos

First, Katherine often starts with photographs. She usually takes these pictures near her rented house in the Hudson Valley. These photos are like her first sketches. They help her when she paints. She also paints from her memory. Sometimes she paints what she sees right in front of her.

Painting on Wood Panels

Katherine paints on square pieces of plywood. She thinks rectangular shapes look too much like typical landscapes. Sometimes she paints on one square panel. Other times, she puts several square panels together. She leaves the lines where the panels meet visible.

Layers and Sanding

Next, Katherine puts on layers of spackle. She might have gotten this idea from painting houses. Spackle is a building material. She puts damp spackle on the wood panels. This creates a matte surface, like a fresco painting. Then, she pours thin oil paints over it. She lets them dry. After that, she starts the hard work of sanding.

The first layers of paint usually match the color of the light. These colors can be pinks, golds, blues, or oranges. Through all the layering and sanding, her landscapes get a glowing quality.

Sometimes, small air bubbles appear in the spackle layers. Katherine does not hide them. Instead, she makes them part of the painting. This means you see the light and shadows. But you also notice the texture of the painting itself.

In the final steps, Katherine stands over her panels. She throws, dribbles, and splatters paint. She even uses a hair dryer! This is similar to how Abstract Expressionists like Jackson Pollock painted.

Awards and Honors

Katherine Bowling has received several important awards for her art:

• 1991 National Endowment for the Arts Grant
• 1989 New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
• 1988 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Fellowship

Where You Can See Her Art

Katherine Bowling's paintings are in many public art collections. This means you can see her work in museums and galleries. Some notable places include:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
• Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, NY
• Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Evanston, IL
• Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
• Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, CA
• Fisher Landau Center, New York, NY

Solo Exhibitions

Katherine Bowling has had many solo art shows. This means her art was the only art shown. Here are some of her past exhibitions:

• 2010: "Katherine Bowling: Moments of Grace," DC Moore Gallery, New York, New York
• 2009: VAN STRAATEN GALLERY, Denver, CO
• 2007: Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York, NY
• 2006: David Floria Gallery, Aspen, CO
• 2005: Katherine Bowling: Paintings, Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, St. Louis, MO
• 2004: Katherine Bowling: Divide, Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York, NY
• 2001: Katherine Bowling: Land to Sea Joseph Helman Gallery New York, NY
• 1998: Katherine Bowling, Joseph Helman Gallery, New York, NY
• 1996: Katherine Bowling, Joseph Helman Gallery, New York, NY
• 1994: Katherine Bowling: Point of View, The Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, FL
• 1994: Katherine Bowling: New Paintings, Blum Helman Gallery, New York, NY
• 1992: New Paintings, Blum Helman, New York, NY
• 1990: Katherine Bowling: Drawings, Blum Helman, Los Angeles, CA
• 1990: Katherine Bowling: Paintings, Blum Helman, New York, NY
• 1989: Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, New York
• 1988: Albright-Knox Members Gallery, Buffalo, New York
• 1987: Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, New York