Tory Cowles Media: Painting, Pastels, and Drawing Studio: 7 Phone: 301 983-2167 E-mail: Website: www.torycowles.com   Painting Gallery One | Painting Gallery Two | Commissions # 427 Acrylic, paper and fabric on canvas, 48" x 48" # 392 Acrylic and paper on canvas, 48" x 36" # 423 Acrylic, paper and fabric on canvas, 48" x 48" With abstract paintings there are no pre-conceptions. The abstraction reveals the artist. What gives pleasure to the eye and mind? Meditation, energy, and serendipitous juxtapositions all stimulate subtleties. The essence of my pleasure in painting is not that different from the pleasure of viewing. The important conflicts I work with are spontaneity and discipline, boldness and subtlety. Incorporation of both extremes gives depth and tension. I like to be spontaneous and then go back with a critical eye often repeating that cycle many times before I like the balance. The challenge is to combine strong colors and gestures with subtle colors and textures so that both create a unique statement without detracting from each other. Transitions between shapes and colors are like spaces between stones in a wall. These negative shapes, lines or lack of them are as important as the shapes they connect. They suggest how the shapes interrelate. They influence how your eye moves around the canvas. They do a lot to determine the nature of the energy and movement in a composition. I paint fast, but I repaint the canvas many times. I like the result of building up layers and I often use the previous painting(s) by leaving pieces of them or scratching through to them. Bright colors make me happy and give me energy.

Current & Upcoming Exhibits and Galleries
o Represented at Studio 7 - Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
o Represented at Touchstone Gallery, 406 7th St., Washington, DC
* Dec. 7, 2007 - Jan. 25, 2008- "Trading Spaces", Artspace, Raleigh, NC
* May, 2008 - Solo Show - Touchstone Gallery, 406 7th St., Wash., DC

Recent Solo and Group Shows

2007:
• Warehouse Gallery "No Representation" Wash., DC
  
• Touchstone Gallery Annex - Solo Show - Wash., DC
  
• WPA/C Invitational Show - Heineman Meyers Gallery,Bethesda, MD
  
• Artomatic - Crystal City, VA
  
• Charlotte Community Center Gallery - 2 man show - Charlotte, VT
  2006:
• Arts Club of Washington - Washington, DC
  
• Touchstone Gallery (Solo) - Washington, DC
  
• Glen View Mansion Gallery (Solo) - Rockville, MD
  
• PASS Gallery - Dupont Circle, Washington, DC
  
• Anne C. Fisher Gallery - Georgetown, Washington, DC
  
• Torpedo Factory Art League - Alexandria, VA
  2005:
• Touchstone Gallery
  
• Anne C. Fisher Gallery
  
• Results the Gym Gallery (solo) - Washington, DC
  
• Delila Katzka Gallery - Washington, DC
  
• PASS Gallery Art League Gallery -
  
• Torpedo Factory Art League, Alexandria, VA
  2004:
• Touchstone Gallery - (Solo) Rendezvous Gallery - (Solo)
  
• Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA
  2003:
• Rendezvous Gallery - (Solo)
  
• Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC