The Buchanan Museum of Fine Art opens an exhibit Saturday of plein air expressionist works by Julie Bowland, who also holds positions of gallery director and assistant professor in the Department of Art at Valdosta State University.

Before moving to Valdosta, Bowland lived in North Florida for almost 20 years, teaching Art at Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College, and for almost seven years was the director of arts in public places for the Cultural Resources Commission, the local arts agency for Tallahassee and Leon County, where she directed the City Hall and Airport Art galleries.

“In that Julie was born in Florida, her expressionist works have always gravitated to lush, watery wooded landscapes which are incredibly striking and memorable, rich with color and dense textures,” said Jeffrey Antisdel, managing director of the Buchanan Museum of Fine Art. “I personally viewed Julie’s early works in the early 1970’s and remember them to this day.”

Bowland’s work is included in private, public and corporate collections including the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, the City of Tallahassee Permanent Collection, Barnett Bank in Jacksonville, First South Bank in Tallahassee and Florida Community College at Jacksonville.  Her work has been shown extensively throughout the southeastern United States, where it has won numerous awards in juried exhibitions.

Bowland will be featuring a workshop on expressionistic plein air drawings and paintings from 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at The Buchanan Art Center, 117 W. Front St. in Buchanan.