"For years I have been influenced by my environment, unaware that I would be taken to a place surrounded by thunderclouds, rolling fields and flat river plains. A place that once held boredom and unrest now holds a familiar beauty and serenity. My paintings are constructed from everyday images that, for most of my life, I stored subconsciously.
"I’ve had the good fortune to have the support and guidance of my family and many wonderful teachers. Out of all the skills and things that I’ve learned in being an illustrator, designer and a painter there are these words that a figure drawing instructor said to me many years ago that still guide me, "Be true to yourself and what you feel." At the age of twelve these words were not as profound and potent as they are at the age of thirty-three. Thanks, Mathew Monks.
"My paintings today are a direct result of my up-bring and 21 years of creating, of trying to find the emotion in what I’ve seen. My paintings are not about the details of a specific place but about convey a feeling of time and of atmosphere through texture, design and color. Hopefully a familiar feeling that will connect the viewer to a piece."
-- Rich Bowman