OWLES

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Sunday, December 09, 2007 at 05:51:35 :

Novato Advance
Wednesday, May 31, 1978

ALFRED OWLES

At his request, no funeral services were held for Alfred Owles, noted Novato artist who died Friday at a local hospital following a long illness. He was 83.

Owles had been a resident of Marin County since 1924 and his paintings, especially watercolors of airplanes and landscapes were exhibited throughout the United States.

He was a native of England and studied art at the Nottingham Academy of Fine Arts before coming to America. During World War I he served as an Army photographer and pilot which began his life-long association with airplanes.

After the war, Owles opened a studio in San Francisco and his paintings of airplanes were published in such magazines as Life, Look, Colliers and the Saturday Evening Post.

He had many one-man shows at galleries throughout the country and his works were commissioned by Wiley Post, Amelia Earhart and Gary Cooper.

His most famous painting was “Satan’s Pipe Organ,” a World War II canvas depicting anti-aircraft guns pointed skyward.

During his later years, Owles, who made his home at 87 Orchard Way, concentrated mostly on landscapes of the California countryside.

Surviving are his wife, Lois Owles, of Novato; a son, Harry W. Owles of Pasadena; a brother, Leonard Owles of Canada; and two grandchildren.

Burial was at Bahia Valley Memorial Park.