I’m Ali Bowder, an artist based in Northern Virginia.

I spent part of my childhood living abroad, and I think that shaped the way I see the world. Some of my strongest memories are of coastlines, weather, and the curiosity of being somewhere unfamiliar. I still find myself drawn to those things when I paint.

Perhaps that’s also why I’m comfortable leaving a painting a little unresolved. I’ve spent much of my life trying to understand how other people see the world. That has carried into my painting, where I’m drawn to the idea that there is no single way of seeing. The work is my lens, but the experience of it belongs to the viewer. I like leaving enough unresolved that someone else can bring their own memories, experiences, and imagination to what they see.

I work primarily in watercolor and often on a small scale. I like the intimacy of smaller paintings and the way they invite you to look a little more closely. I’m less interested in recreating the world as it appears than in seeing what it can become. For me, that’s where the joy of painting lies.

I rarely set out to paint a particular place. Instead, I let the paint move and see where it takes me. Sometimes what emerges looks like water, sometimes mountains, snow or fields, and sometimes I’m not quite sure myself. I like that.

Alongside my paintings, I've created MOVING ON…, a collection of greeting cards for the moments when the mundane card isn't quite up to snuff. They’re dry, irreverent, occasionally inappropriate, and likely not for those with delicate sensibilities.

Whether I’m painting or making cards, I suppose my lens is quite similar: looking at something familiar a little differently.

Welcome to Ali Bowder Designs.