Nancyanne Cowell  
Fine Art Studio

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTIST     

                  

 


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Bio

From an early age, Nancyanne Cowell began painting our relationship with nature in the Canadian landscape.  An Award of Distinction artist, she is well regarded for her powerful atmospheric landscapes in oil-mixed media and Tonalism.  Ethereal and delightfully moody, Cowell's paintings stay with you and reveal themselves over time.  Through introspection, she poetically paints through thoughts, memories and sublime experiences with nature.  Combining timeless and progressive techniques, Cowell skillfully paints through extensive layers of colour, tooled textures and mesmerizing transitions of pulled pigment.    


Selected by Canada’s Research Chair for sustainable communities (and recipient of the Canada Council Arts Molson Prize), a complete series of Nancyanne Cowell's paintings is academically published. She made a unique and revolutionary body of work celebrating art and nature that was honoured by The Bateman Gallery of Nature. At the regional level, she won the Designers Choice Award for best artistic and innovative accomplishment in painting. Cowell also produces collections that exhibit in public and commercial galleries. Her award-winning artwork is collected in major private, corporate, institutional and public living spaces.

 

BFA (Hon) (Distinct), MBA, LFC; Award of Distinction for painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Victoria; elected member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.
 

  

 
                           

                                                      
Curatorial Statement
by Stephanie Webb, BA, BFA (Hon), MA, Art Critic & Curator 


Soul of the Land

Nancyanne Cowell is an inspirational artist of our time. Her stunning and sensuously vibrant ‘ecoscapes’ profoundly capture the cyclical nature of our existence.  When handled with such virtuosity, Cowell’s subjects  love, life and death  compellingly speak to the fragility of the world, as we know it.  Cowell’s powerful, yet tenderly painted atmospheric paintings show evidence of making, unmaking and remaking, conjuring spectres of the inexorable passage of time. Yes, time is fleeting but, here, it is marked and recorded by the tempo of the brush … the whisper of a wing, a suggestion of a wave, an edge, flashes of flesh, drops of pooling light, hints of blue and pink: Am I beside a perilous precipice, at the edge of the world, witnessing a birth  the first breath  or caught in time, gazing deeply into the jeweled tones of a dragonfly’s eye? Bringing forth deep emotions, we are given space to integrate our own stories and experiences into these large-format ‘ecoscapes’, for they are mysterious and as multivalent as they are layered.

Born in Ottawa, Cowell’s early years were spent painting and examining the diversity of her surroundings, and it was here  growing up in the greenbelt of southern Ontario  that she became aware of the tenuous interconnections within ecosystems.  Later,  Cowell relocated to the west coast to undertake a BFA with Honours and was granted the Award of Distinction for painting, whilst concurrently studying Environmental Philosophy.  Shortly thereafter, she earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, which deepened her understanding of society and, more importantly, continues to inform her art making.  This combination of fine art, philosophy and business studies proved potent. Driven to inspire positive change, Cowell taught sustainability and marketing at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Although this experience was wonderfully rewarding for her, when the ‘roar of unstoppable paint’ could be denied no longer, Cowell became a full-time artist. Now, she inspires by different means. Painting on canvas, Cowell creates life-affirming, atmospheric 'ecoscapes' that are never mournful but always filled with vitality  that we can, and will, bring ourselves back from the brink…


Representation

The Bateman Gallery of Nature,  www.batemancentre.org
The only Canadian public gallery promoting artwork to inspire a generation of people to have a deep relationship with nature. Provides leading-edge exhibits and public-education programs, and displays the permanent collection of Robert Bateman.  Hosts featured exhibits of Nancyanne Cowell's painting collections and projects.  The gallery is currently in the process of searching for a new location in Victoria, British Columbia.   

Federation Gallery,  www.artists.ca

Exhibits and sells original fine art representing elected-member artists with national standards, the Federation of Canadian Artists was founded by the Group of Seven to promote and support the knowledge and achievements of Canadian arts and culture at the national level.  Located in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Federation Gallery hosts national juried art exhibits and also offers online art-shopping.  

 

Fortune Gallery,  www.fortunegallery.ca

Exhibits and sells original contemporary fine art and hosts exhibits for the Victoria Chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists.  A multi-award winning gallery, it is historically located in the vibrant, bustling Chinatown in Victoria, British Columbia. 


Edward Jones Investment 
A corporate representative; permanently exhibits and promotes Nancyanne Cowell's paintings nurturing nature, in the Cordova Bay office.

 


Permanent Fine Art Collections
 

Royal Roads University, (three paintings, Victoria, BC)

Edward Jones Investment Incorporation, (Victoria, BC)

Community Research Connections, Edging Forward Project on Climate Change, (9 paintings academically published, (Edging Forward Art Gallery, online)

Age Less Spa Clubs (Victoria, BC)

 

 

Exhibitions


2023 Fortune Gallery, Fall Exhibit, FCA Victoria (juried)
2023 Edward Jones Investment (featured)
2023 Fortune Gallery, Expressions Exhibit, FCA Victoria (juried)

2022 Federation Gallery, The Curated Collection (national)
2021  Sooke Fine Arts Show, (regional juried)

2021  Federation Gallery, The Curated Collection (national)

2021  Edward Jones Canada, (featured), Cordova Bay, BC
2020 Federation Gallery, Looking In-Looking Out (FCA Victoria)

2020 Federation Gallery, Social Distancing (international juried)
2020 Edward Jones Canada, (featured), Victoria BC

2020 year of Covid-19 pandemic...events and galleries closed 

2019 JDStevenson Gallery, Spring Show, Chemainus BC

2019 Royal Roads University Gallery, (featured), Victoria BC

2019 Federation Gallery, Abstracted (nat’l juried), Vancouver BC

2019 Edward Jones Canada, (featured), Victoria BC

2019 JDStevenson Gallery, Holiday Show, Chemainus BC

2018 Sooke Fine Arts Show, (award winner), Sooke BC

2018 JDStevenson Gallery, Summer Show, Chemainus BC

2018 Edward Jones Canada, lobby, (featured), Victoria BC

2018 Royal Roads University Gallery, (solo) Victoria BC

2018 JDStevenson Gallery, Holiday Show, Chemainus BC

2017 Bateman Gallery of Nature, (solo) Victoria, BC

2017 JDStevenson Gallery, Summer Show, Chemainus BC

2017 JDStevenson Gallery, (featured), Chemainus BC

2017 Edward Jones Canada, (featured), Victoria BC

2017 JDStevenson Gallery, Holiday Show, Chemainus BC

2016 JDStevenson Gallery, Fall Show, Chemainus BC

2016 Edward Jones Canada, lobby, (featured), Victoria BC

2016 JDStevenson Gallery, Inaugural Show, Chemainus BC

2016 Victora Arts Council, (juried), Victoria BC

2016 Sooke Harbour House Art Gallery, (solo), Sooke BC

2015 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Holiday Show, Victoria BC

2015 Sooke Harbour House Art Gallery, (group) Sooke BC

2015 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Spring Show, Victoria BC

2015 Edward Jones Canada, lobby, (featured), Victoria BC

2015 The Gallery-at Mattick's, (featured), Victoria BC

2015 Sooke Harbour House Art Gallery, (solo), Sooke BC

2015 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Holiday Show, Victoria BC

2014 Arts Center Gallery at Cedar Hill, (juried), Saanich BC

2014 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Spring Show, Victoria BC

2014 Sooke Harbour House Art Gallery, (solo), Sooke BC

2014 Sooke Harbour House Art Gallery, (group), Sooke BC

2014 Edward Jones Canada, lobby, (featured), Victoria BC

2013 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Holiday Show, Victoria BC

2013 The Gallery-at Mattick's, (featured), Victoria BC

2013 Sooke Harbour House Art Gallery (group), Sooke BC

2013 Edward Jones Canada, lobby, (featured), Victoria BC

2013 Victoria Arts Council, (juried), Victoria BC

2013 Arts Center Gallery at Cedar Hill, (juried), Saanich BC

2013 Saanich Municipal Hall Gallery, (featured), Saanich BC

2012 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Holiday Show, Victoria BC

2012 Edward Jones Canada, lobby, (featured), Victoria BC

2012 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Spring Show, Victoria BC

2011 Saanich Studio Tour, (sold out), Saanich BC

2011 Edward Jones Canada, (featured), Victoria BC

2011 Victoria Arts Council, (juried), Victoria BC

2010 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Fall Show, Victoria BC

2010 Saanich Studio Tour, Saanich BC

2010 Victoria Arts Council, (juried), Victoria BC

2010 The Gallery-at Mattick's, (featured), Victoria BC

2010 Edward Jones Canada, (featured), Victoria BC

2009 The Gallery-at Mattick's, Holiday Show, Victoria BC

2009 The Gallery-at Mattick's, (featured), Victoria BC

2009 Victoria Arts Council, (juried), Victoria BC

2009 Edward Jones Canada, (featured), Victoria BC

2009 Saanich Studio Tour, (sold out), Saanich BC

2008 The Gallery-at Mattick's, (featured), Victoria BC

 

 

Media

Island Arts Magazine, "Hill of Dreams" painting selected for the spring 2023 Mar-Apr edition

Front Cover, 2019 Exhibition Catalogue, Sooke Fine Arts Regional Show, 'Between Tomorrow' painting, awarded 2018 Designers Choice for best artistic accomplishment and originality

Royal Roads University Media, 'RRU Acquires Cowell Painting', by Ali Blythe, July 2019

Sooke Fine Arts Show Poster, 'Between Tomorrow' painting selected for 2019 poster to represent the 33rd Sooke Fine Arts Juried Show in western Canada, United States and abroad

33rd Sooke Fine Arts Show Media, 'Between Tomorrow' painting selected for all domestic and international print media, social media, television and radio press, as well as digital street bulletins

Quill and Quire Magazine, Review, "Edging Forward" book by Ann Dale & Edging Forward Art collection by Nancyanne Cowell, Feb 2018

Front Cover, Focus Magazine, 'Carbon Thoughts' painting, Sept-Oct issue, 2017 

2017 Exhibition Catalogue, Edging Forward Exhibit, Bateman Gallery of Nature, Fernweh Press Publishing, authored by Jamie Clifton-Ross, Curator

Coalition of Museums for Climate, Featured Article, "Edging Forward Exhibit on art and science collaboration", Jaime Clifton-Ross, Curator, Bateman Gallery of Nature,  Mchriscastle, Nov 2017

Fernweh Press, "Edging Forward" (achieving sustainable development), book by Dr. Ann Dale, cover and chapter-by-chapter painting illustrations by Nancyanne Cowell, print & e-book design by Peter Sibbald Brown, 2017

Fernweh Press, "Edging Forward Project" (achieving sustainable development) by Dr. Ann Dale, multi-media website offering academic research, films, videos, podcasts and an online art gallery curating the Edging Forward Art Collection by Nancyanne Cowell, 2017

Chin Yuen Art, Article, "Women Hold Up Half The Sky" Exhibit, March 2016

SEASIDE Magazine, Article, "Time Suspended: Dust Motes, Dragonflies and Dandelion Clocks", Stephanie Webb, Jan 2014

The Cordovan, News Vignette, "...fast on the rise", Issue 10, Winter 2013

CACGV Newsletter, News Vignette, July 2013

Front Cover & Feature Article, "moments", ISLAND Gals Magazine, Peer-Recommended Artist for Inspiration and Motivation, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Volume 3, Issue 2, June 2013
 

SEASIDE Magazine, News Vignette, Seaside Arts Scene, Gillian Crowley, June 2013

CACGV Newsletter, News Vignette, May 2013

SEASIDE Magazine, Arts Feature Article,  2013 Women to WATCH, "...in the garden", Mar 2013

Exhibit-V, Art Connections, Ezine Article, ["...you can almost taste her paintings"], Stephanie Webb, Mar 2013

The Cordovan, Article, "You Can Almost Taste Her Paintings", edited by Chris Harbor, Spring 2013

CACGV Newsletter, News Vignette, Apr 2013

YAM Magazine, Painting in Featured Home, Home and Garden, July/Aug 2011

Where Magazine, Canada's Travel Planner, Vignette, "Featured Artist", The Gallery-at Matticks, July 2010

Saanich Newspaper, Article, "Painter Nancyanne Cowell", Island Life Style, June 2009

Preview, Art Gallery Guide, Vignette, "Featured Artist", The Gallery-at Matticks, 2009