Throughout history
prisoners have pursued
myriad means of creative
expression. Nearly two
millennia ago Paul the
Apostle spent his time
in prison composing
letters to Christians in
far-off lands — letters that
remain powerfully relevant
in the modern world.
Among San Quentin’s
incarcerated walk a
number of incredibly
talented artists who have
found true inner freedom
through independent
creative expression. From
charcoal sketches to
acrylic on canvas to music
and the performing arts,
these new old masters
pour their lifeblood into
their creations and share
them on these pages.
Bruce Fowler is a self-taught artist who embraces the power of his pencil to create realistic scenes that captivate the fascination of viewers. His keen focus on the hidden details seems fitting for someone incarcerated for more than two decades. But only by looking behind those details can the beholder perceive the message in the metaphor.
“There is time to pay attention to what’s right before you,” the artist said in an interview with SQNews Senior Editor Juan Haines. In 2017 he drew a series featuring a small fishing trawler in good shape. The vessel is beached in calm waters, but under gloomy skies indicative of a storm either looming or recently passed. The boat’s name, Freedom, is laden with meaning for the artist. His prison number, emblazoned on the bridge from which the captain would navigate stormy waters, serves as the vessel’s call sign. Finally, Freedom is also his daughter’s name.
“It’s a double metaphor,” Fowler said. “My freedom is on the beach right now. It will take a lot of work to get that going. It’s the same with my daughter. It’s a struggle to get to my daughter, and to get my freedom in the world.”
learned what it meant to run
aground. Now he taps into
a passion within himself he
never knew existed — and
shares the profound lessons
he picked up along the way.
The Freedom trilogy represents segments of the incarcerated experience — getting “beached” puts one’s life and livelihood on hold, sometimes indefinitely, allowing the person time to look at his life choices, to make an inspection of purpose, to get an understanding of his place in the world.
Fowler says that realism is an important part of his life experience. “I can put on canvas what I see in my head,” Fowler said. “I can physically and emotionally put myself in the picture, which is why I seldom put people in my paintings. I leave that part up to the viewer.”
learned what it meant to run
aground. Now he taps into
a passion within himself he
never knew existed — and
shares the profound lessons
he picked up along the way.
Fowler says he hopes that one day incarcerated artists are more recognized in the art world. “I see that as a real need for so many that I talk to,” Fowler said. “The artists that I socialize with, there is an absolute necessity to be seen and heard by their art. Anything I can do to assist that brings self worth to me also.”
