About the Artist

I have a passion for the human figure and love the variety of expression in the human form. I want my paintings to be like visual poems, condensing time, creating a mood and evoking an emotion. People who buy my paintings often ask me to tell them the story in the painting, but I've learned that it's better not to tell my story, the painting must speak to the person who views it." - Pam Powell

Pam Powell combines her dedication to traditional art principles with her firm belief that those principles must communicate with the modern world. Calling herself a "contemporary representational painter", Pam paints the world she inhabits using the solid classical skills she's developed.

As a young woman Pam went to Europe where she fell in love with Renaissance art. After her return to the United States she received a BFA degree in Sculpture from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and a second BFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Pam has studied painting with some of the most respected representational painters in this country including Huihan Liu, Zhaoming Wu, Craig Nelson, William Whitaker, and Michael Shane Neal.

Recognizing her abilities as an artist and a communicator, the Academy of Art University invited Pam to join their faculty in 1995. She teaches painting and drawing, passing on the traditional skills she has honed.

The California Art Club membership jury chose Pam for its select "artist member" category in 2006. She also belongs to the Oil Painters of America and the Portrait Society of America.

Magazine Articles:
"A Window On Life" by Max Gillies, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, April 2016
"Pam Powell: Painter of Modern-Day Genre" by Molly Siple, California Art Club Newsletter, Fall 2011
"Cafe Views" by Lisa Wurster, The Artist's Magazine, March 2010
"Quiet Observations" by Joshua Rose, American Art Collector, April 2009
"Cafe Culture" by Joshua Rose, American Art Collector, July 2008
"As The Story Goes" by Devon Jackson, Southwest Art Magazine, 2007
"Cafe Society" by Bonnie Gangelhoff, Southwest Art Magazine, 2005

Select Awards:
Finalist: Artist Magazine 26th Annual Art Competition 2009
Finalist: Artist Magazine 25th Annual Art Competition 2008
Second Prize: International Artist Magazine "Favorite Subjects" competition in the August/September 2007 issue.
Grand Prize: Portrait Art Society Annual Exhibition in San Francisco, CA in 2001
 
Upcoming Exhibitions:
October 2016 ~ Oil painters of America Salon Show Juried Exhibition, Castle Gallery of Fine Art, Fort Wayne, IN
November 2016 ~ Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition, Marshall Gallery of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ

Recent Select Exhibitions:
May/June 2016 ~ Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Southwest Gallery, Dallas, TX
April 2016 ~ California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition, Autrey Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA
August 2015 ~ Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition, Wild Horse Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO
April 2015 ~ "Musings", Graton Gallery, Graton, CA
June 2014 ~ "Scenes From The Road", Graton Gallery, Graton, CA
January 2012 ~ "6th Annual Invitational Art Exhibition", Graton Gallery, Graton, CA
January 2011 ~ "5th Annual Invitational Art Exhibition", Graton Gallery, Graton, CA
November 2008 ~ "Great American Figurative Artists", Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
July 2008 ~ "Quiet Conversations", Lesley Levy Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
March 2008 ~ "New Work", Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
November 2007 ~ " Introductions", Leslie Levy Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
July 2007 ~ "Fresh Paint", Leslie Levy Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
February 2007 ~ " Year Five", invitational show, Graton Gallery, Graton, CA
September 2006 ~ Annual Invitational Show, Galerie Kornye West, Fort Worth, TX
February 2006 ~ " New Artists", Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
September 2005 ~ Annual Invitational Show, Galerie Kornye West, Fort Worth, TX
May 2005 ~ Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Hilligoss Galleries, Chicago, IL
April 2005 ~ "Soft Voices", two-person show, Graton Gallery, Graton, CA