At first glance, the dynamic turquoise oil-painting-in-progress in Margie Bowker’s Santa Maria art studio appears to illustrate powerful waves crashing at sea.
The impressionistic painting, which the artist is currently calling Turbulence, may actually be more, a window into her soul.
Bowker is putting the finishing touches—a seagull here and another seagull there—onto her work depicting the infamously turbulent Cape Point, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic, in her native South Africa.
“It reminds me sometimes of my soul,” Bowker revealed. “I’m always turbulent, I always get worried. That’s what I’m like inside sometimes.”
That is the beauty of art: When an artist, in this case, an empathetic, graceful grandma, shares her art, she shares herself.
This internationally known artist’s paintings hang in galleries around the world, and all were lovingly created in her Santa Maria home.
The 70-something Bowker is preparing 14 new paintings and drawings for what may be her final art show—you know, she said that last year, too.
On June 20, she opens her home and patio garden as part of the annual Los Padres Artist Guild garden and studio tour.
Her husband, Santa Maria professional tennis coach Keith Bowker, tends to their award-winning garden.
The couple left South Africa in 1997, relocating to the Central Coast, but Bowker still misses her homeland, which is reflected in her art.
“When I get homesick, I think of my nanny,” Bowker said as she gazed at her paintings of beautiful Xhosa women.
She also captured on canvas the image of a majestic elephant in Uganda, another new piece of art available at her upcoming show.
Other wildlife flew their way into her latest collection, from tropical parrots on silk, to a happy hog, to several playful paintings of roosters and chickens.
Bowker also recently completed a detailed drawing of Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara, and a vibrant vineyard painting called White Hills, of workers harvesting grapes in the Santa Maria Valley.
She has also illustrated and autographed delightful children’s books, which will be available at the show.
“I’m very fortunate in a way; I have a lot of variety,” Bowker said. “I love to wake up in the morning and think, ‘What am I going to do today?’
I’ve found that I draw well, so that has enabled me to have a variety of subjects, from women to scenes from Santa Maria, the vineyards, the cowgirls, and I always keep a little bit of South Africa in my shows.”
Her most successful pieces have been modern paintings of “ladies with one striped stocking,” an idea that was born decades ago in South Africa.
Her latest in that colorful series captures a group of wide-brim-hat-clad women sipping wine in the courtyard at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez.
Bowker goes on location, sits, watches, and draws what catches her eye. She even starts painting, until the light changes. Drawing has been a lifelong love for Bowker.
“You know, I never remember being without pencil and paper,” she said. “From a little soul, all I wanted for Christmas or birthdays was paper and a pencil, and I used to draw, draw, draw, draw, draw.”
Bowker recalls the day in sixth grade in South Africa when her unique drawing of a postman inspired her teacher to predict that she would become a famous artist.
“That stuck in my mind,” she said. “[Art] has done well for me. It’s a passion. I love it! I love it!”
Sun Eats columnist Wendy Thies Sell loves good art as much as good food. Contact her at wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 4-11, 2015.