Olwyn Bowey

In Olwyn Bowey’s making of her first digital prints she was supported by Maciej Urbanek, one of the RA Schools’ digital printmaking tutors. This collaborative process allowed Bowey to experiment with various digital mark-making techniques to generate new work based upon her distinctive, dynamic pencil drawings on paper which explore the lush environment and captivating perspective within West Dean’s traditional greenhouses.

She first exhibited at the Leicester Galleries, London, and contributed to group exhibitions at the Zwemmer Gallery, London in 1961 and the New Grafton Gallery, London in 1969. Initially interested in portraiture, she later moved to the countryside to concentrate on landscape and still-life, being particularly interested in the tradition of the artist plantsman. An exhibition on this theme, entitled Olwyn Bowey Drawings, was held in the Friends’ Room at the Academy in 2000. Nowadays, Bowey always works on the spot, often outdoors, but mostly in her greenhouse, which doubles as a studio.

Elected Royal Academician in 1975 (ARA 1970), Bowey is also an Honorary Member of the Royal West of England Academy and an Associate of the Royal College of Art. She lives and works in Sussex.

Courtesy of Royal Academy of Arts