Bowman Design and Framing gets a makeover

A brightly painted turquoise building with a sunshine yellow roof stands at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Railroad Street in Portland, drawing attention from passers-by. A work of art in its own right, the 100-year-old structure is home to Bowman Design and Framing, owned by local artist Dinah Bowman.
“It was formerly a VFW building before I purchased it in 1979,” said Bowman, who has made the building her studio, gallery and framing business for more than 40 years. 
Now a local celebrity, with work on display in the Smithsonian, Bowman has taken on an apprentice for her unique fish-printing technique. She recently held a grand re-opening of the business with an exhibit that showcased the art of both Bowman and artist Mike Catlin. The event was also the final phase of a building and business makeover. 
“Our vision is to not only have a thriving business here in the Coastal Bend and continue the legacy Dinah Bowman started,” Catlin said, “but to also have a strong relationship with the community and to promote art here in Portland.”  

BOWMAN’S BEGINNINGS

Bowman studied marine science and chemistry before blending her love of everything under the sea with artist vision. While getting her master's degree, she worked part time at a framing shop and on illustrating a book about fish in the Gulf of Mexico for Texas A&M Press.
"It was a three-year project involving 130 illustrations, but it proved to me that I could be my own boss,” she said. “And the quality of my work steadily improved."
Bowman was given approval by Texas A&M-Kingsville to design her own master’s degree program and she chose biological illustrations. She finished her degree in two years and began looking for a place to set up shop. The VFW building became available, and she “jumped off the cliff,” she said. 
Bowman's art career took off when a South Padre Island gallery helped her land a contract with an interior designer. Her job was to create custom art to match the interior fabric of some newly built condominiums.
“I learned the wholesale side of the business, and within six months, I was in the black,” she said. 
What brought her national attention, however, was her specialty in gyotaku, the Japanese art technique of fish printing. It involves covering an actual fish with ink and pressing a cloth or paper against it to imprint its image. Bowman learned the art form in Japan while spending time with her father, who was in the U.S. Air Force.
“I started printing fish as trophies for fisherman but went beyond that to create fine art pieces,” Bowman said. “One of my pieces is currently in the collection of the Smithsonian.” 
Since then, Bowman's gyotaku technique has been featured at a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department expo, in Southern Living and Southwest Airlines magazines, and on an episode of “Texas Country Reporter.”
“When I was invited to the Parks and Wildlife expo, I promoted my work as a mixture of art and science,” she said. “That way, as kids experimented with printing the fish, they also learned about the fish.”
Looking back, Bowman believes the key to her success over the years has been her flexibility. Part of that flexibility was breathing new life into her business three years ago when she hired Catlin. His first move was to suggest a makeover.  
“When you first walked in, it was like being in an old map store with shelves and scrolls everywhere, more like a warehouse,” he said. “So when I came in, I opened up the space to make it more like a true gallery and frame shop. And now, it serves our needs even better.”
Catlin also recommended changing the exterior, which had remained a slate gray since the gallery's early days.
“I noticed that nobody here in the Coastal Bend paints in coastal colors,” Catlin said. 
His own artistic style involves the bright and the bold. He and Bowman agreed to go the same direction with the building’s exterior. The new look brought in customers who said they had never even noticed the place before. 
In addition to the building makeover, Catlin also helped to revamp the business side.  
“Our main lines of business are framing, gyotaku and coastal art,” he said. “We're known for our high-end, archival framing to protect fine art. I also do custom, ready-made frames that are one-of-a-kind, but now, we've added a ‘frugal framing special’ for everyday framing needs.” 
No matter what framing line a customer chooses, Bowman Design and Framing uses high-quality molding, mat, frame materials and glass. Frames are quality but often cost less than those found in the big box stores, Catlin said. 
As for the fish printing, Bowman's style is still uniquely her own. Caitlin has become her sole apprentice in learning the technique. 
“Success breeds competition,” Bowman said. “Ever since my technique was featured in several publications, there have been a lot of imitators.” 
Bowman's art cannot be easily duplicated, Catlin asserted. After printing the fish, the artist has to go in and paint the intricate details. It is not a craft but a true art, he said. 
Bowman and Catlin both have their own work on display inside the gallery and are planning more exhibits, art classes and other activities to build community and an appreciation of coastal art.
“We're a very unique shop, and once people come in, they fall in love with our store,” Catlin said.

Bowman Design and Framing is located at 312 Fifth Ave. in Portland. For more information, call (361) 643-4922 or visit bowmandesignandframing.com, customframingcorpuschristi.com or facebook.com/bowmanframing.