Audrey Kay Dowling
Audrey Kay Dowling
Audrey Kay Dowling has been a teacher, mother, and an artist since graduating from SUNY New Paltz in 1974. During these years she has explored many different art media and has developed a strong collector base and following for her paintings and one of a kind clay art.
Although Audrey explores many different mediums, her underlying love of natural form is always present in her work. Audrey says the following about her work:
"My artwork is autobiographical. I was raised in the country and spent my days exploring the creeks, the woods, the fields, my mother's flower gardens, bugs, rocks, wild and domestic animals, and birds of all kinds. More than city life experiences I have had, my years in the country grounded me and have given me a sense of what was important to me."
Artist Statement
I have always thought of flowing water, flowers, and mountains to have natural grace and beauty. I think a love of this natural curvilinear form grown out of feminine grace and movement comes through my work. It is a line of visual movement that is flowing and accepting. Like the sweeping gesture of flying birds through the sky, the swirl of fish through water, the gentle curve of wind blowing a branch or flower, light playing through trees... my work expresses nature's flow. My work allows others to think about the beauty of this world in which we have the pleasure of existing. My goal is to convey an appreciation for the visual treasures that surround us all. Form is beautiful, color is exciting, movement is visually stimulating, and texture and patterns open my eyes and my heart to express myself through clay and paint. 
Art is as much as part of my life as breathing. I am always searching, thinking, composing, and being inspired. I have spent a great deal of my life immersed in nature and this comes through my work. Drawing is as natural a process for me as talking is for most people. Even when I don't actually have a pencil or paint brush in my hand I am still visually drawing in my mind when I see something that interests me. I believe that the artist serves as a translator for the non-artists of the world, so I let things filter through my mind and flows via my brushes or drawing tools onto painting surfaces, whether they be clay, paper, canvas, or wood. My favorite way to work is directly out in the field, plein air painting or taking clay to draw on out to the garden or fields. Sometimes I bring nature in to me and draw special freshly picked blooms onto the surface of pots in the clay studio. I also do work directly from human models. Some of my favorite painters include Emily Carr and The Group of Seven painters from Canada. Their approach of getting out in nature and interpreting it through paint mediums has been a source of inspiration to me.
EDUCATION
2004 Alfred University. Alfred, New York. Summer Graduate work in Ceramics. Studied under Walter McConnell
2000 Alfred University. Alfred, New York. Summer Graduate work in Ceramics. Studied under John Gill
1988-1990 State University College, Fredonia, New York. MS Ed. with a Concentration in Gifted Education
1974-1976 State University College, New Paltz, New York. 30 Graduate Credit Hours for Permanent Certification in K-12 Art
1970-1974 State University College, New Paltz, New York. BS Cum Laude in Art Education