Grand Marais artist Alice Powell greeted patrons who attended the August 12 opening of her show at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais. She came to town in 1959 as an art student to take classes from Byron Bradley and Birney Quick at the Grand Marais Art Colony and ended up marrying Milt Powell and raising three daughters here.
The community has long been proud of Alice Powell and her contribution to the world of art. In celebration of her more than 50 years creating art in Cook County, the Johnson Heritage Post is featuring her work through August 28, 2011. She was on hand for the opening of her show Friday, August 12.
Powell arrived in Grand Marais in 1959 as a young art student to study at the Art Colony with Byron Bradley and Birney Quick. She met and married Milt Powell, and they raised three daughters here.
Powell studied at the Minneapolis School of Art and the University of Minnesota-Duluth and took many classes at the Grand Marais Art Colony and the Duluth Art Institute. Her work has won numerous awards and is included in collections across the U.S. She focused for 20 years on watercolor paintings but has since expanded into drawing, mixed media, and acrylics.
In a written description of her work, Powell talked about the spontaneous quality of watercolor painting. “At times,” she wrote, “storytelling may also be evident along with a bit of whimsy and humor. Landscapes of the North Shore and surrounding forest are a natural for watercolor and have provided no end of inspiration and delight for my creative energies.” Powell wrote that her focus has recently been shifting to more close-up images.
Alice Powell’s artwork has evolved over the course of time. She focused for 20 years on watercolor painting but in recent years has delved into drawing, acrylic, and mixed media and has branched into new subject matter as well. Powell’s Johnson Heritage Post show will continue through August 28
“I realized some time ago that tree images are a consistent subject of my work, as is true for many artists,” Powell wrote. “I find endless fascination with the dance of the birch, the solemn and majestic pine and the mystery and magic of the cedar. Indeed, tree forms have become a symbolic expression of spirituality for me and for the cycle of life.
“…It seems that the work of an artist is much like peeling back layers. One’s exploration leads to a need to go a little deeper, to get to the core. The journey is the important part. Making art is like that for me.”
A one-woman show featuring the work of Alice Powell opened August 12, 2011 at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais. Powell has created a wide variety of captivating images since she came to Grand Marais as an art student at the Grand Marais Art Colony in 1959.
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