Gallery Artwork Descriptions
Wonder Sun, our cover image for this issue, is the bust of a woman rendered in reds, yellows and blues. Spiraling black line is used to guide the eye through the stylized form. The woman is seen in three-quarter view and white flowers dance around her head and shoulders. The heavily textured surface provides additional visual interest.
Hurricane Angel is a cosmic burst of color with generous accents of white. The angel is flying into the frame of the picture from the upper right hand side to the lower left fitting more or less into the boundaries of a spiral. The random distribution of color and accents of black line enhance the feeling of motion. Points of the feathers on the wings offer contrast to the sensuous line of the rest of the form.
Nautilus is the most angular of all the images by this artist. Outlined in black, this painting might have been rendered in stained glass as easily as in paint. The yellows, oranges and reds that surround the face of a woman in profile are contained within a circle (a rose window) that dominates the center of the canvas and floats on a blue ground that suggests an expansive universe beyond.
Saffron Goddess is another three-quarter view of the bust of a woman. This time the "S" shaped spirals favored by Mr. Bowden are used to render the shoulder length curls and form a frame around the face of the woman whose eyes are shut.
Blue Storm Kiss shows a man to the left and a woman to right who are about to kiss. Both figures in profile are oddly reminiscent of Egyptian art. The spiraling "S" shape is used again to stylize the curls of the woman. And the woman's form is contained within a large comma shape that overlaps the male form and brings the woman forward in the composition. This composition while more complex than some of the others maintains the astrological quality by floating the figures in front of a brilliant blue cosmic background.
Woman Wrapped in Rose allows the woman's body to swirl at the center of a very stylized rose. The sharp angles of the rose petals are balanced by the flow and curve of the woman's body and the moon-like circle that separates the foreground from the ever present cosmic background.