About The Artist
“I believe that art is the highest expression of the human spirit”
Patric Marlow, the younger, smarter, better-looking brother (left), and his brother Paul, after their annual Independence Day bike ride, July 4, 2012.
Paul Marlow (b. 1965, Monticello, Iowa) is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, art director and photographer. Having been raised in the rolling hills of Eastern Iowa, the grain towers, golden light and expansive horizons of his childhood have greatly shaped and defined his aesthetic.
Trained as a designer and accomplished in painting, Marlow earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Northern Iowa in 1988. Marlow has worked over 35 years in marketing and design. He now lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with his wife Theresa, daughter Betsy and dog Harley.
He had his debut in exhibitions at Black Earth Gallery in Cedar Rapids, and the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.
Since 2017, Marlow has earned 4-First Prizes, 2-Second Prizes and 1-Third Prize awards in Oil and Acrylic painting at the Iowa State Fair Fine Arts competition, including double-first prize awards in 2020—one for Best Oil, and one for Best Acrylic painting. Marlow was awarded 3rd place at the 2017 NewBo Arts Festival in Cedar Rapids, and he was named Featured Artist for the Waukee Arts Festival in 2018.
His paintings are often noted for their ability to capture the feeling of being alone in nature or in urban settings—whether it's standing atop a grain tower or standing by yourself on a road trip through rural America.
His work has also been included in various corporate and private collections throughout the U.S.
Artist Statement:
“As my artist’s statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of deep significance.”
I just paint what profoundly moves me.
To make a single moment eternal—that is my goal.
I am motivated to capture moments in time that we often miss. My motivation is driven by a fascination with history, particularly finding a connection to it and a sense of familiarity and humanity within the works of the past. My aim is to draw in the viewer and create narratives that incite a deeper interest in who we are and where we have been. My goal is to create works of art that will last for generations.
As an image-maker, this fascination drives me to create work as authentic to the traditions that fascinate me as is possible.
My paintings are created with oil paint or acrylic polymer on canvas. I am conscious of the traditional craftsmanship involved.
When I'm planning a painting, I use the fundamentals of design to create an illusion of light and form. When this illusion is convincing and to my taste, the painting is complete.
My work is rooted in the tradition of American Realism. My work is often representational, but I employ different painting styles depending on the message I want to communicate.
To this extent, the work that I pursue varies greatly. I paint in different techniques and styles to convey different ideas.
Painting in a different style is like speaking a different language. Why not be bi-lingual? Or multi-lingual?
My work has been influenced by travel to Austria, Germany, Iceland, Norway and Spain—as well as Florida, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
Artist and his Mother, 2017.
“In his paintings, Marlow isolates moments in his everyday surroundings. He emphasizes the elements that make something beautiful or interesting, straddling abstraction and representation. He experiments with color and composition, allowing those elements to help create an intriguing narrative.
Marlow was raised and educated in Iowa but his work is rooted in the history of American realism and abstraction, showing the wide-ranging influence of Edward Hopper and Grant Wood, to Hilma af Klint and Brice Marden.
Marlow’s work is a celebration of the beauty found in the everyday. His paintings of urban and rural America are characterized by his fascination with shadow and light, while his landscapes are characterized by simplified compositions that focus on vivid color combinations.”
— H.B. Wheaton, 2022
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
© 2011-2023 Paul Marlow. All rights reserved.