Ann Marie O’Dowd

Member since 2022

I began my creative career at the Massachusetts College of Art pursuing a degree in Graphic Design. In my final year I took a course in photography, and was instantly hooked. I graduated with a degree in Fine Art Photography and spent years documenting the world around me in black and white.

Later in life I began painting, and I discovered that the physical qualities of moving liquid paint across canvas is what I truly love. I find it so satisfying to smear, sculpt, pull, draw and stamp with paint. Acrylic paint is my preferred medium.

When I start a new painting I first look to my black and white photographs for inspiration. This gives me a solid composition to start from, but allows me the freedom to invent my own unique color palette. I rely on a variety of tools: brushes, palette knifes, stamps and sometimes paper. I love that each tool creates a mark that cannot be duplicated; my brush creates a variety of line, my palette knife creates volume and hard edges, my stamps create a repetitive pattern.
The subject matter differs from portraits of people and animals, to still life’s and landscapes. Regardless of the subject, my goal with every painting is to create character using color, pattern and line while maintaining the movement of the medium. As I continue to paint I hope to inspire others to explore the physical qualities of paint, and utilize art making as a creative outlet.

All images ©Ann Marie O’Dowd