"He turned from one form of landscape architecture to another; from
an administrative, planning context to an illustrative and communicative context that is
still landscape architecture,
"Landscape architecture is an interesting blend of science and art and has a strong
social context -- now he explores that and everything else as a painter."
Quote by Professor Emeritus Herrick Smith
Dept. of Landscape Architecture
Cindy Spence
"Preserving the Horizon"
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA TODAY
National Alumni Association Magazine
August 1993
"An environmental exhibition
that focuses on coastal habitats along the Gulf of Mexico opens Monday on the 22nd floor
of Florida's State Capitol.
The collection by Florida environmental artist Hal Stowers spans 20 years. It chronicles
the diverse beauty of the fragile shorelines along the five states that border the Gulf
...
"Many of his works were created on board the "Mangrove Momma," his 36-foot
trawler that served as his home and studio ...
"His show, sponsored by Secretary of State Jim Smith and the Division of Cultural
Affairs, will hang in the 22nd floor gallery through April 29. The collection is valued at
more than $400,000.
The one-man retrospective is part of the state's commemoration of "the Year of the
Gulf," a program began in 1988 to protect and restore the Gulf environment."
Dorothy Clifford
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT
January 22, 1993
"Hal... quit his job as an
urban planner to draw pictures of Florida's fragile landscape...
"Today... Hal's canvases, lithographs and sculpture fetch thousands of dollars from
art collectors throughout the country...
"I think you could say that the Stowers name is synonymous with environmental
protection," said David Dunbar, who leads the Dunbar corp., a consulting firm in Palm
Harbor...
" the message is certainly clear: Florida's environmental concerns are first and
foremost among the personal goals and objectives in their lives..."
Carol A. Marbin
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
September 9, 1990
"Although he looks like he
could do it, Hal Stowers cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound. But then, the tall,
muscular man with the thoughtful expression doesn't have to. This modern-day hero fights
quietly, using paintbrushes, etching pencils and his observant blue eyes.
With these weapons and wife B.J. by his side, Stowers has used his artwork to foster
environmental awareness.
For the past 20 years, his work has focused on Florida's endangered ecosystems...
"His first one-man show, held Oct. 15, 1971, sold out. So did his second and third
shows.
After 20 years, his work is appreciated by 1,000 collectors..."
Cathy Collins
"Nature's Quiet Hero"
TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL
August 26, 1990
"Stower's sculptures and
impeccably detailed watercolors, lithographs and etchings speak eloquently for his
personal appeal for preservation of the state's natural resources."
Christina Cosdon
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
November 18, 1986
"It's little wonder that the
Pinellas County Commission proclaimed Stowers
"a natural treasure.'"
Ron Stuart, Editor
TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL
October 19, 1986
"Hal Stowers, whose soft
seascapes are popular with Florida and corporate collectors, is devoted to the beauty of
Florida's disappearing shoreline. His paintings, prints and sculpture repeat images of
native wildlife and ecology, images that surround and shape his home. The Stowers'
involvement with the environment pervades their way of life; they schedule their days
according to the tide table: appointments with prospective art buyers at low tide, outings
in their boat to do "field work" at high tide."
Laura Cerwinske, Managing Editor
SOUTH FLORIDA HOME & GARDEN
Fall 1983 ANNUAL
"it is the impact of Stowers'
sky that commands one's attention, emphasizing the artist's feeling for controlled color
and design. This composition combines the sincerity of nature and the
deliberateness of improvisation."
Richard Reilly, Art Critic
THE SAN DIEGO UNION
April 13, 1980
"Nothing excites environmental
artist and poet, Hal Stowers more than the preservation and regeneration of marine life
along Florida's fragile shorelines with its mangrove and tidal flats, marshes, hammocks,
sea oats and sand. His love and concern for these fast-disappearing ecosystems have
inspired him to capture them on canvas and paper. These works are a record of what may
someday soon be a precious scenario of the way it was ...
"The result of Stowers' hours, days, months and years spent studying and recording
Florida's shorelines and wetlands has resulted in several series of incredibly delicate
and sensitive scenes of the native Florida environment. Stowers' superb workmanship has
made him one of Florida's most sought-after artists."
Christina Cosdon
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
February 22, 1978 |
"When Stowers started painting in the early 1970's, his works were
void of color and wildlife. He didn't want to distract attention from the mangrove
forests, sand dunes and salt marshes that were vanishing at an alarming rate.
Later, after sailing throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, Stowers began adding
beautiful skies to his paintings in the hope people would start taking care of the air in
addition to the water and land.
Even though he and his wife, B.J., lived on a mangrove-rimmed bayou teeming with mullet,
trout and snook, Stowers never got around to adding a fish to one of his works.
Then a friend invited him to go tarpon fishing in Boca Grande pass.
His art will be changed forever...
"The result of Stowers' labors is Free Again ! The tarpon in the painting has the
classic S curve of a jumping silver king ..."
Terry Tomalin, Outdoors Editor
"Fishing trip hooks artist"
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
June 6, 1997
"Hal Stowers
loves his work.
On a Monday afternoon, we find him drifting along a barrier island trying to entice a few
snook from their hiding places deep beneath the mangroves.
He tosses the jig towards the shadows, then reels it back in. Nothing there.
He smiles. With the sun on his back and the wind in his hair, he doesn't seem to care.
He throws the jig again and watches it land with a splash. Then he stares intently at the
trees.
'Mangrove snake ... what color was the one you saw?' he asks.
We strain to spot the reptile, but it's hidden from our sight. Stowers sees it, though,
coiled there on a branch, basking in the sunlight.
It's there plain as day, on the canvas of his mind, a little mangrove water snake
preserved for all time.
Maybe in a few months, maybe in a year, we might see it, too, the bright red snake, framed
big as life. Some might call it conservation. Most would call it art. But to Hal Stowers
it's just another day working, work he takes to heart.
'Can you imagine it's 1993, and we still have this pristine island,' he said. 'I'm just
happy I can share it with people.'
For more than 20 years, Stowers has been traveling Florida's Gulf Coast and through the
Caribbean, doing his best to help capture tropical islands and shifting sandbars in their
purest state.
'These islands are so important, yet they are constantly changing,' the artist explained.
'Some people may never have the opportunity to get out here, but they can still enjoy
their beauty.'
Stowers hopes that the men and women who make Florida's laws will take a moment to stop
and appreciate these natural wonders.
In Tallahassee, in the 22nd floor gallery of Florida's Capitol Building, a collection of
the Palm Harbor artist's work, entitled The Gulf to the Caribbean, is open to the public
through April 28.
'The legislators are people I'd like to reach,' he said. 'We need to get the message
across that these areas need to be protected.' ...
'Honeymoon Island, Three Rooker Bar, Anclote Key, they are like pearls on a necklace,' he
said. 'I never get tired looking at them.'
With development threatening natural areas along both coasts, the beauty and romance of
these coastal areas may soon disappear.
Sure, Stowers will do his share to preserve the sand dunes and mangroves for generations
to see.
But given the choice, he'd rather have the real thing."
Terry Tomalin, OUTDOORS
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
January 29, 1993
"Ten years ago,
Hal Stowers quit his job as an administrator with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
... Then 27, he walked away from 40-hours-a-week security and into the world of art ...
"today, Hal Stowers is a highly successful, free-thinking and creative artist who has
managed to harness the ephemeral relationship between business and the arts. In the
process, Stowers has seen his works displayed in corporate settings throughout the
country."
Wiley Brooks, Business Writer
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
April 19, 1981
"...he captures
the relaxed, tropical atmosphere with great skill and affectionate familiarity."
Eleanor Harris, Art
SANTA MONICA EVENING OUTLOOK
July 15, 1978
"Harry Stowers'
name is synonymous with the preservation and regeneration of Florida's delicate shoreline
and fragile river ecosystems...
"He works hard to save these precious environments by capturing them on canvas and
handmade paper...
"The Florida environment that is fast disappearing finally may be destroyed by man,
but it never will be forgotten by man as long as Stowers keeps painting, etching and
printing his exquisite monochromatic scenes of sand dunes and sea oats, mangroves and wild
birds, eel grasses, crabs and fish."
Christina Cosdon
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
September 21, 1976
"He left his
position with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council in 1971 to begin doing art to remind
persons of the beauty of nature that could be destroyed by insensitive development. One of
his clean, precise etchings (he owns his own large press) of beach and trees on Sand Key
is titled 'Or Concrete' ...
"The craftsmanship is so immediately remarkable as to win instant approval from
viewers."
Charles Benbow, Art Writer
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
October 9, 1974
"With luck (or is it his talent?) few artists have known, 17
paintings were sold in the first week of the exhibition."
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
October 27, 1971
|
