Continuum
I once wrote that “Margaret Dowell is one of the most talented, exquisitely gifted, and technically proficient painters that I know”, and through the years Dowell has proven me right time after time.
Dowell, who grew up working with her family on the tobacco farm where she now paints, has flexed her enviable painting skills for several decades now – and yet still manages to amaze with each new work via her intelligent representational style, often loaded with social commentary.
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She is also a hard-working artist, with paintings that show not only her extraordinary technical skills, but also deliver an omnipresent sense of mental desire and an intelligent understanding of her subjects.
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As you enter her art world, be prepared to be amazed, entertained, shocked, and educated in a way that only a sublime work can deliver!
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Lenny Campello
Lenny Campello is an artist, art dealer, critic, consultant and art blogger - Daily Campello Art News, www.dcartnews.blogspot.com
Portraits
Self Portrait with Basketball
Oil on Canvas
48" X 72"
Self-Portrait with Concerned Bunny
Oil on Canvas
36" X 48"
Sidi
Oil on Canvas
11" X 14"
King Sidi
Oil on Canvas
18" X 24"
Regina: Some Boys Wear Make-Up
Oil on Canvas
42" X 42"
King Ken
Oil on Canvas
42" X 42"
Nicole James: Jimmy
Oil on Canvas
42" X 64"
Stephanie Michaels: Michael
Oil on Canvas
42" X 64"
BRASH BY BABE
Oil on Canvas
48" X 60"
BRASH, the mysterious, famous poet of Washington DC"s Artomatics gave permission to Dowell to out her with this portrait. Here you have it folks, the genius that is BRASH.
Social Observances
Joseph Barbaccia with Naked Aggression
Oil on Canvas
32" X 42"
We all know that the vast majority of violence and aggression towards others is by males not females. Dowell felt that Barbaccia's sculptural work Naked Aggression visually and poignantly captured that fact. Her painting is both an homage to him and a stark reminder to us all.
Asantewaa
Pastel on Paper
42" X 54"
The work Asantewaa was created to illustrate the concept of joy defeating violence. The work, more than once, has reinforced Dowell's understanding that the magic of art happens when the artist's background meets the viewer's background. At gallery showings of this work, some have described seeing an anti-gun statement, others, a pro-gun statement.
Self Portrait with Holy Man
Oils on Canvas
48" X 72"
Ideology to bring out the good (God) in mankind is found in all religions. Unfortunately, some leaders in every religion preach the likes of hate and condemnation. Dowell's Self Portrait With Holy man illustrates that Holy men are truly human, imperfect beings - most doing the best they can (helpful or harmful) with what they personally believe. Fun fact: the book utilized for this image is devotion free - a photography book by Alfred Stieglitz.
Letting Go
Oil on Canvas
48" X 72"
Letting Go is the most well known and utilized of Dowell's own paintings with the substance use theme. This work has appeared in many art exhibitions, newspapers, magazines, internet sites, and on the cover of a US Surgeon General's Report. The model for this work is Dowell's good friend and art model, Joan Jenkins.
Addiction and Art
Dowell co-edited the book Addiction and Art (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), and she also created a number of paintings on this topic. The goal of the book was to provide a stimulus to change the way Americans viewed substance abuse by using the visual arts to put a human face on addiction and recovery. The book and Dowell's related website, http://www.addictionandart.org (2010-2025) helped to ignite community art shows on this subject across the country.
Sidi Started Drinking at 9
Oil on Canvas
Diptych, 30" x 24"
Recovery
Oil on Canvas
18" Round