B.C. Nowlin - Life & Light: The Spiritual Odyssey

L ife & L ight : t he S piritua L O dy SS ey O f

B.C. N owli N

Artist Statement:

“Kicked out of art class in high school. No college, no workshops, mentors, any instruction…

Just me and my brushes since childhood.

These paintings know they are paintings. They aren’t pictures. My art works are not replications of anyones’ photos or sketches. I don’t paint what it looks like; I paint how it feels. These images create themselves on the easel; fresh, new and surprising to me, results of my childish imagination and immature faith in the act of painting itself…

I start an art work without underpainting, and not much planning…only a hopeful attitude and a flurry of abstract color and shape, loving the sexy feel of moving paint around and experiencing light, shadow, depth and form arrive. The final image always feels somewhat magical.

My works may be narrative, but not necessarily my narrative. I create with a weird, flawed sort of intuition that sees these images as present tense…so these stories, if that is what they are, are new to me. Like you, I’ve just arrived, and your impression is as valid as mine. Am I illustrating a book I’ve never read?

These creations reflect seasons of my life, and perhaps, your’s too.”

BC Nowlin