Dowell studied at the John Herron Art Institute (Indianapolis, Indiana) and the Tamarind Lithography Workshop. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants for his work and teaching from various institutions including the National Endowment of the Arts and the Brandywine Workshop.

Dowell has been known to work across genres. He is an avid jazz enthusiast whose work often features use of abstraction to interpret poetry and music. Dowell is also known for his appropriation of spiritualism, historical awareness, racial angst, and focus on social justice that is evident is his recent work. One of his most poignant series of works can be seen in his recent exhibition at "Cotton: Symbol of the Forgotten," where Dowell “weaves together – both literally and figuratively –complex historical threads addressing issues of slavery, community, and memory, all intertwined with cotton.” In, "Cotton," Dowell offers panorama contextualization of the “industrialization” of cotton in the South and the financial and human toll on the African-Americans harvesters.”

John Dowell, currently a Philadelphia native, is Professor Emeritus of Printmaking at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. His artwork is represented in several prominent collections.