Judith Kowler
- Often gets lost in the fun of letting her paintbrush dance around the surface of a canvas, and is known for her bold and colorful paintings. Sometimes she will even wipe off paint from the canvas, or turn it upside down, to see what emerges.
- She and her late husband were raised in New York and moved several times before settling in Richmond in 1978.
- Was drawn to the cultural and artistic offerings in the Richmond area and the warm, welcoming community.
- Was a teacher at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, where she started the art department in 1992 and taught for 15 years.
- Is continually learning about the arts through museums and galleries, and looking at the latest offerings by artists. She is influenced most by her fellow Richmond artists and takes time to travel to interesting destinations for inspiration – most recently to Iceland!
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ARTIST BIO:
Judith Kowler works primarily in oils and has also worked in mixed media and printmaking. She holds degrees in art education and painting and printmaking from the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Design, with continued studies at Eastern Michigan University and Virginia Commonwealth University. She is the former studio art teacher and chair of the Fine Arts Department of the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, Virginia. Before coming to Richmond in 1978, she taught art in Michigan, New Jersey, and Texas.
Conceptual mixed-media pieces, monotypes, figurative and still-life paintings and drawings, and non-objective and abstract oils have all been part of her evolving creative journey. In recent years, Judith has been especially drawn to painting the landscape. The Blue Ridge Mountains, gardens, travels, and memories have inspired the work. Judith occasionally works en plein air, but most often her paintings are developed in the studio. Judith states, “The give and take inherent in the creative process, the excitement of color juxtapositions, the whisper of an elegant edge, the joy that I feel when colors and shapes lock into each other as they play across the surface, are all continually challenging and deeply satisfying.”
Judith’s work has been exhibited in both group and solo shows and is in many private collections.
Website: http://judithkowler.com/