Meet Mark Bowles
“New energy for a new year,” my daughter Jessica said when she first saw my latest work. I think that summed it up pretty well. I started to feel a little redundant in the work I was producing last year. Not everything had that spark or energy I wanted. My new work is rising to the occasion — to be untethered from me and exist in the world complete. I continue to develop new paintings, keeping me engaged and committed to my art. Whether I re-examine the horizon line, space, temperature, or the vegetation state of a piece—I am dedicated to painting with full intention to release and capture an emotion.
Born and raised in Northern California’s San Francisco Bay Area, artist Mark Bowles has spent more than five decades exploring the power of paint to capture not only what we see, but what we feel. His artistic journey began with a deep fascination for interpreting the world around him — a passion that led him to study at the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California, where he graduated with honors. During his studies, he also spent time at the renowned Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, an experience that further shaped his artistic voice and lifelong commitment to creative exploration.
Mark’s work is driven by curiosity, intuition, and a fearless approach to expression. Whether painting landscapes, still lifes, or the human figure, he is continually inspired by texture, form, color, and the emotional resonance they create together. Refusing to be confined to a single style, his paintings move fluidly between representation, minimalism, and abstraction — each piece reflecting a willingness to evolve and experiment.
Painting with honesty and immediacy, Mark approaches every canvas as a conversation in the present moment. His work is bold yet deeply personal, guided as much by instinct as by technique. For Mark, painting is not simply an intellectual process; it is an ongoing search for new visual language — an ever-changing expression of how he experiences the world around him.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Mark has exhibited widely in galleries and museums across the country. His work is currently represented in galleries in Santa Fe, Palm Desert, Scottsdale, Tucson, and Los Gatos, and can be found in numerous private and public collections.
His paintings are also included in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Crocker Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, Booth Western Art Museum, Denver Art Museum, Tucson Museum of Art, and the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
Mark has recently added limited edition giclée prints to his list of available works. See availability in the shop.
Mark currently lives and works near Sacramento, California with wife Debbe and four-legged studio mascot Lucy.
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1976 - 1980 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland CA. Graduate Program Candidate, Full Merit Scholarship
1971 - 1976 Bachelors of Fine Arts with Honors in Painting, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland CA. Undergraduate Merit Scholarships
1974 Academy of Art, San Francisco, CA
1972 Institudio Allende, San Miguel De Allende
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1999
California State Fair, Jurors Award-Golden Bear Award, Sacramento, CA.
Fairfield Annual Juried Art Show, Fairfield, CA. Juror's Award & City of Fairfield Purchase Award Recognition through numerous Juried Art Shows in Northern California. -
Yosemite National Park, Artist in Residence, CA
Maynard Dixon, Artist in Residence, UT
University of Pacific, Stockton, CA Lecture
Crocker-KingsleyCrocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA Lecture
Artists in Action Assembly Coordinator, San Juan Unified School District, CA
Represented California College of Arts and Crafts (C.C.A.C.) to United States Senate for funding Union of Independent Colleges
Permanent Slide Catalog of C.C.A.C. (undergraduate) (1976)
Permanent Slide Catalog of C.C.A.C. (graduate) (1976-1979)
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2026
Solo Show, Canyon Contemporary, Santa Fe, NMThe Marshall Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Solo Show, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, Annual Art Auction
This Land is Your Land, Solomon-Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2025
Solo Show, Canyon Contemporary, Santa Fe, NMGallery Sausalito Group Show, Sausalito, CA
Yolo Arts Reflections on Water Group Show, Woodland, CA
Whitney Modern Gallery, Group Show, Los Gatos, CA
Fringe Gallery, Group Show, Telluride, CO
Crocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
2024
Solo Show, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CATwisted Track Gallery, 2-Person Show, Sacramento, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
Solo Show, Canyon Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2023
Solo Show, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CASlate Gray Gallery, one-person show, Telluride, CO
Crocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
Solo Show, Canyon Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2022
Slate Gray Gallery, Telluride, COCrocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
Solo Show, Canyon Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2021
Slate Gray Gallery, group show, Telluride, COCrocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
2019
Canyon Contemporary, 2-Person Show, Santa Fe, NMCrocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
2018
Solo Show, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CACrocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
Solo Show, Canyon Contemporary Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2017
Medicine Man Gallery, 25-year Celebration, Group Show, Tucson, AZHaggin Museum, Save the Delta Group Show
Coda Gallery, Two-Person Show, Palm Desert, CA
California State University, Sacramento, Group: Exhibition DELTA
Solo Show, Canyon Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2016
Crocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CASFMOMA Artist Gallery, two-person show, San Francisco, CA
Group Show, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
Triton Museum, Art for Wine Collection, group exhibition Imagery, Santa Clara, CA
Altamira Fine Art, Desert Mythos, Scottsdale, AZ
2015
Booth Western Art Museum group show, Cartersville, GAShimo Gallery, solo show, Sacramento, CA
Temporary Contemporary Gallery, Sacramento, group show
This Land is Your Land Group Show with Wayne Thiebaud and Greg Kondos, Morris Graves Museum, Eureka, CA
"About Time" Morris Graves Museum, Eureka, CA, solo show
Landscapes, Tansey Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, NM"Five X Seven," Exhibition Morris Graves Museum Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, Art Auction
2014
Crocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CASutter Hospital, Sacramento, CA. Installation of Natalie Giorgi Foundation Trust Painting
Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA group show
"Biodiversity and Human Impact on the Environment: A multi-media group exhibition," Tansey Contempora
"The West," Island Gallery, WA, group show
"Three Landscape Painters," Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
"The River Show," Temporary Contemporary, Sacramento, CA
Central Coast Wine Classic, nonprofit fundraiser, Avila Beach, CA
Solo Show, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
2013
Mark Sublette Modern, Tucson, AZ"Out of the Box," Temporary Contemporary, Sacramento, CA, Group Show
"3 Artists' Work," Temporary Contemporary, Sacramento, CA
Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Howard Schlepp Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
Napa Valley Museum, Yountville, CA Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
2012
Danville Art Center, Danville, CASolo Show, Vertical Peaks, Jackson Hole WY
Group show Roseville Arts Blue Line GallerySolo Show, 555 California Street, San Francisco
J.C. Davis Medical Center CAP Child Abuse Prevention Event and Donation Crocker Art Auction, juried
Palm Springs Art Museum, juried
2011
Jesuit High School Fundraiser, Sacramento, CASolo Show, Howard Schepp Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
Desert Aids Foundation/ Steven Chase Humanitarian Awards, Palm Springs, CA
City of Pleasanton, Firehouse Civic Center, Pleasanton CA
Two-person show, Vertical Peaks gallery, Jackson, WY
Group Show, Palm Springs Desert Museum, CA
Group Show Vertical Peaks Gallery, Jackson Hole, WY
Bill Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Group Show American Embassy, Katmandu, Nepal
2010
American Embassy, Mexico City, MexicoHoward Schepp Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
Solo Show, Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Translations Gallery, Denver, CO
Crocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
Sacramento State College, Exchange Program-China Art
Solo Show, Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard Contemporary Art
2009
Group Show, Anne Loucks Gallery, Chicago IL,Group Show, Translations Gallery, Denver, CO
Solo Show, University of the Pacific (UOP) Stockton, CA
Solo Show, Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA
Imagery Winery/Benziger Winery, Glen Ellen, CA, wine label
2008
Group Show, Brazilian Court, Palm Beach, FLLlecture Anne Louck Gallery, Summer Salon VI, Glencoe, IL
Group Show, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA
Santa Lucia Preserve, Invitational En Plein Air, Carmel, CA
2007
Arizona: A Millennium of Arizona Art, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZBakersfield Museum of Art, Collectors Gallery, Bakersfield CA
Crocker Art Museum, Invitational Art Auction, Sacramento CA
"Kondos - Bowles", Mark Sublette's Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
"Expanding the View" Solo Show, Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento CA
Boston Arts, Inc. Invitational Landscape Show, Boston, MA
Osceola Galley, "Sculptors and Painters", Emeryville, CA
Marion Meyer Gallery, Group show, Laguna Beach, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Annual Art Invitational, Sacramento, CA
KVIE Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
Crocker-Kingsley 74th Exhibition, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
2005
"Sacramento Valley Landscape Exhibition", John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CASolo Show, Brazilian Court, Palm Beach, FL
Yosemite Museum, Yosemite National Park, CA, juried show, honorable mention
Solo Show, Yosemite Museum Traveling Exhibition Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Group Show, 20th Street Gallery Invitational, Sacramento, CA
Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA
Pence Gallery Art Auction, Davis, CA, invitational Yosemite National Park Museum, CA, juried show
Solo Show, Williams & Padden Architects, Granite Bay, CA
Miniatures and Masterpieces, Art Foundry, Sacramento, CA
Sacramento Open Space Conservancy, Sacramento, CA
KVIE Art Auction, Sacramento, CA, invitational California State Fair, Award of Excellence, Sacramento, CA
Solo Show, Art Foundry, Sacramento, CA
Group Show, Robert Allen Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
Group Show, Art Foundry, Sacramento, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA, invitational
Yosemite National Park Museum, Traveling Exhibition, invitational
J. Mark Sublette, Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ, invitational
Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards - Desert Aids Project
Architectural Digest, February 2004 Issue: painting represented Miniatures and Masterpieces, Art Foundry, Sacramento, CA
Arte Gallery, Palm Desert, CA, two-person show
John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA, preview
Artist in Residence Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, CA
Art Foundry, Sacramento, CA, solo show
Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA, invitational
Solo Show, Epperson Gallery, Crockett, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Friends of the River Group Show, Sacramento, CA, invitational
2004
Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA,Solo Show, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Granite Bay, CA
Yosemite Renaissance XVII, Yosemite Museum, CA Yosemite Renaissance Traveling Exhibition
California State Fair, Juried, Award of Merit, Sacramento CA
Artist Business Council, Sacramento, CA
Solo Show, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Granite Bay, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, art auction invitational
McConnell Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA
Solo Show, Pence Gallery, "A View of the Future", Davis, CA
Invitational Sacramento Valley Open Space Conservancy, group invitational
Art Foundry, Sacramento, CA, group show
California State Fair 2001, Award of Excellence, Sacramento CA California State Fair 2000, 2001, Award of Merit, Sacramento CA
Elliott Fouts Gallery, Granite Bay, CA,
Solo Show, Arts and Business Council Sculpture Benefit, Sacramento, CA Contemporary Southwest Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
Group Show Arts and Business Council of Sacramento: Renaissance
Invitational Crocker Art Museum Art Auctions, Sacramento, CA
Sacramento Open Space Conservancy, Sacramento, CA
Solo Show, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA
Group Invitational Sutter Club- "New Work," Sacramento, CA
Art Expo, San Francisco, CA
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Artist Council 30th Annual Nat'l Juried Show, Palm Springs, CA
American Red Cross Showcase, Palm Beach, FLSolomon-Dubnick Gallery-Self Expression, Sacramento, CA
Group Show California College of Arts and Crafts Alumni Invitational, San Francisco, CA
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University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
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American Embassy Katmandu, Nepal
American Embassy Mexico City, Mexico
American Embassy, Port Louis, Mauritius
Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Citrus Heights, CA
Brazilian Court, Palm Beach, FL
Buzz Oates Developer, Sacramento, CA
Capitol Builders, Sacramento, CA
Ceebraid-Signal Corporation, Palm Beach, FL
Chang, Ruthenberg & Long, Sacramento, CA
City of Fairfield, CA
Downey Brand, Law Firm, Sacramento, CA
Downtown Plaza, Sacramento, CA
Evergreen Development Corporation, Sacramento, CA
Garcia, Brenner, Stromberg, Boca Raton, FL
Gen Corp - Aero Jet, Rancho Cordova, CA
Hahn Corp, Sacramento, CA
Iron Point Business Park, Folsom, CA
Kriess Collections, L.A/Palm Springs, CA
Marvin Windows, Sacramento, CA
Massachusetts General Hospital, The Lunder Building
Nancy Dicenzo Law Office, Sacramento, CA
Ritz Carlton, Lake Tahoe, CA
Roseville Bank of Commerce, Roseville, CA
Runyon Saltzman, Sacramento, CA
Spieker Properties, Sacramento, CA
Stanford Ranch, Rocklin, CA