Meet the August Featured Artists at Redlands Art Association

In the month of August, Redlands Art Association invited two long time members to exhibit at the gallery. Oil painter Martha Cowan brings landscapes and still life to the walls while jeweler James Bowden brings a mix of nature with intricate silversmithing.

Featured Artist Martha Cowan

For almost a decade, Cowan has taught classes at the gallery which has been a great joy for her. This spring she taught her last art class, and so having a featured art show feels like a way to say thank you to her students for the time they have spent together. “I absolutely loved teaching but it took up a lot of my mental space,” she said. “Now I am making time to paint.” It’s the third time Cowan is the featured artist, last time she exhibited with her students.

Cowan is a member of the California Art Club and Oil Painters of America among others. Her artwork has been published in magazines and won accolades at the National Orange Show, San Dimas Festival of Arts, Palm Springs Artists Council Annual Exhibition, as well as at the Redlands Art Association. For three years in a row her artwork was displayed at the Annual Gold Medal Exhibition at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. Her artwork is also available at the Mission Fine Art gallery in San Juan Capistrano. She hopes to be at Art for Heaven’s Sake in Redlands this fall.

With an art degree and professional career as an art teacher for 40 years, Cowan has continued to study with many artists. This year, Cowan took a workshop with known landscape painter Mark Kerckhoff in Borrego Springs in Anza Borrego. “I don’t like the desert but I love his paintings so much that I wanted to see what he saw in the desert,” she said. The workshop has been pivotal for the way she paints these days and now she sees the beauty in the desert. “I learned to paint more tonally with simpler shapes and less detail but still having an accurate rendition and feeling.”

Her work lately has been focusing on creating realism through color choices, not only in landscapes but also in still life. “I am interested in preserving what won’t be preserved,” she said, choosing landscapes that are disappearing. She will also paint little abandoned buildings, wondering about the history of the place and who was there. Another favorite motif is horses, Cowan and her husband are horse people. They live in Rancho Cucamonga.

She is still in contact with her former students, sometimes she joins their painting time and will gladly help them with questions. “I love my students,” she said.

Cowan brings all original artwork for the upcoming show, “I look forward to seeing people I know, my students coming to the reception,” she said. “And hopefully sell a few pieces.”

Featured Artist James Bowden

Artist James Bowden has a background in paleontology with interests in archeology, history and geology. His sister and family describe him as an all-ogist. “I incorporate all of that into my artwork,” Bowden said.

Bowden’s artwork includes flintknapping, lapidary, silversmithing and enameling. For the past 40 years he has refined his flintknapping skills, so too is his work in stone cutting, silver overlay, enameling, granulation and casting technique in a league of its own.

“One thing that fascinates me with enameling is, that there’s just about as many techniques with glass enamel work that there is with silversmithing,” he said.

For the collection on display at the Redlands gallery, Bowden has focused on bringing stonework made with rocks found in and around Redlands. Each jewelry piece encompasses details and stories of the rich regional environment.

“I’ve been focusing on tightening my scope and reflecting more on my pieces,” Bowden said.

A few years ago, he was turquoise mining in Nevada noticing wild mustangs drinking from a clay bed. He took a photo of them, and later painted that scene with glass enamel that he set with a piece of turquoise from the trip. “[My artwork] ties in with an event, a personal experience, me collecting and seeing the animals and the whole storyline behind it,” he said.

It is the second time Bowden is the featured artist in the Redlands gallery. His artwork has been on display at local craft shows in collaboration with rock clubs, it has been published in magazines, newspapers and online articles. His flintknapping skills has been featured in the TV series “Somebody's Gotta Do It.” In the past year, he has won awards in the Multi Media Mini Show in Redlands and at Joshua Tree Art Gallery.

In each piece Bowden goes as specific as he can, for example using the extinct desert pup fish and the native California fan palm in an art piece.

The unique stones and other materials used in Bowden’s artwork results in not only necklaces, earrings and rings but also in bolo ties and framed arrowheads.

Upcoming Open House

Both Bowden and Cowan are looking forward to sharing the featured artist space this month.

“I enjoy being a part of the art community,” Bowden said of Redlands Art Association. “I am honored to be chosen and to be able to present along with Martha.”

Open house reception where you can meet both featured artists this Saturday August 2, from 1 to 4 p.m.

More info

You can find Cowan’s artwork on her website: marthacowanpaintings.com
You can find Bowden’s artwork on his website: www.flintknappers.com/gallery/past2present
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/JKBowdenPast2Present
Instagram: @past_to_present_programs

About the Redlands Art Association

Address: 215 E State St, Redlands CA 92373.
RAA website: redlands-art.org
RAA social media: 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RedlandsArtAssociation
Instagram: @redlandsartassociation

Opening hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays closed.

Featured artist show by artists Martha Cowan and James Bowden runs from August 2 to 29. An open house event is planned for Saturday, August 2nd from 1 to 4 p.m.