b'c o a s t a la r tThe Natural, Magical World of Dinah BowmanMeet the marine biologist-turned-artist whose work has become iconic of the Texas Gulf Coast.For just about any of us Texans who grewAfter earning a bachelors degree in ma-upfishingandbeachcombingontherine biology, Bowman took a job at the Gulf Coast, Fishes of the Gulf of MexicoUniversityofTexasatAustinMarine wasthedefiningauthorityonourna- Science Institute in Port Aransas, whereUpper Left: Dinah Bowmans famed gyotaku fish print art; Above: Bowman posing with a custom tive species. For high school and collegeshe put her artistic skills to work with herpiece displayed in a private island home; Below: One of Bowmans very popular oyster paintings.Oceanographystudentstaskedwithmarine biology training to create illustra-gaining expertise on those species, thetionsforscientificpublicationsallthe book was something of a Bible. The color- while earning masters degrees in art and ful, lifelike illustrations contained withinterrestrial biology. its pages opened up an undersea worldAlways the teacher, both formally and in-that few of us will ever experience. formally, Bowman taught other educators The creator of those iconic images wasthe art of gyotaku fish printing, including none other than beloved Portland, Texas,one David A. Bartling, the famed Flour artist Dinah Bowman, who first broughtBluff High School Oceanography teacher, the real-life artistic technique of Japanesewho passed on this unique skill to hun-gyotaku fish printing to Texas in 1969adreds of his students, over his storied 35-skill so unique in America that Bowmansyearcareer.Anavidfishingenthusiast, work is included in the permanent collec- Bowman has traveled the world catching tion of the Smithsonian National Muse- native species that she creates into fish um of Natural History. print art, from rooster fish in Panama, to When I was a college student, I didnthalibut in Alaska.know anyone who made a living in art, soUltimately,thesuccessofBowmanArt I studied marine biology and chemistry,and Framing is what fuels her creativity. said Bowman, on the occasion of the 45thThe variations of what art collectors are anniversary of Bowman Art and Framing.looking for and what interior designers While attending the University of Corpusareneedingchangeseveryyear,said Christi (later, CCSU then TAMUCC), Bow- Bowman. Creativity is allowing yourself mandrewnationalattentionwhenshetomakemistakesandknowingwhich was named one of the countrys Top Col- ones to keep. After 45 years in business, lege Girls by Glamour Magazine. it is a skill Dinah Bowman has mastered.128THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'