“For the past two years, I have been using reflection in water and mirrors as metaphor. The figures I choose to paint are searching and exploring as I am,” writes Linda Lowry in her artist's statement for her new solo show at Lone Tree Arts Center.

The water is rippling, swirling, dazzling in the sunlight as Lowry records that particular part of her world.

Some works exhibited through Jan. 26 are from her “Water Nymphs” series, completed for a 2012 exhibit at Goodwin Gallery in Denver. Those include people and others, more recently created, are just of water in motion and at peace.

Lowry's colors are bright and clear, skillfully layered to give the effect of depth and movement — inviting the viewer to stick a toe in.

“The patterns in water encourage a different approach than my paintings of buildings; I like the playfulness of abstraction,” she says. “I like the suggestion of layers in another world below the surface.”

According to Lowry, she has been using cameras below the water and on the surface and after her show, “Water Nymphs,” she began to explore mixed media and printmaking with master printmakers Tony Kirk and Sue Oehme.

The exhibit at Lone Tree includes 17 paintings and seven prints.

“The Boulder flood this September has inspired another aspect of water imagery: the power and potential destructive nature of water,” her artist statement concludes. “I am in the middle of my first mixed media flood piece inspired by the experience of having my studio flooded. The dualistic nature of water will be the theme of `Water, Water Everywhere.'”

While she didn't lose any artwork in the flood, it did have a distinct emotional impact, she said, and art enthusiasts can look for that impact to appear in a future exhibit.
Lowry, whose work has appeared in numerous solo and group exhibits since the early 1980s, has art in many collections in the US and abroad. She taught in the Arapahoe Community College Art Department for a number of years and said she is scheduled to teach a class in figure drawing at ACC next semester, provided it fills.

This show opportunity is an award for her winning “Best of Show” in the 2014 Lone Tree Art Exhibition and Sale in November. Katherine Smith-Warren was juror for the exhibit.

If you go:

“Water, Water Everywhere,” paintings and prints by Linda Lowry, runs through Jan. 26 at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., Lone Tree. The exhibit can be viewed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and prior to performances. Admission is free. 720-509-1000.