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  • Gallery One – Lakes and Gardens
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  • Gallery Four – Artist in Residence at Pepperwood Preserve
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Marsha Connell Studio

Marsha Connell Studio

Monthly Archives: May 2013

A Studio Sunday Painting Demonstration

24 Friday May 2013

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, ARTrails, Landscape, Painting, Still Life

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Corrick's, demonstrate, discussing, inspiration, oils, open studios, spontaneous still life, Studio Sunday, techniques

I will demonstrate painting a “spontaneous still life” in oils during Studio Sunday at Corrick’s, May 26, 12:30-4:30pm this weekend. You are invited to stop in!Studio Sunday 5-26

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Still Life with Colander or 36 Views of Persimmons

21 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Landscape, Painting, Poetry, Still Life

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constellations, ekphrasis, Hiroshigi, Hokusai, Japan, landscapes, luminous, Mount Fuji, persimmons, perspectives, sacred, Sally Baker, tabletop, Ukiyo-e

Still Life with Colander
or 36 Views of Persimmons

Sally-Baker-Still-Life-With-Colander-watercolor


written by Marsha Connell for my good friend and collaborator Sally Baker,
for her exhibit of watercolors and ekphrasis* poetry

There was a time—200 years long—
when Japan shut its doors to travelers from the West,
to sailors and missionaries, to diplomats and artists —
Sakoku, closed country.
And Japanese citizens could not travel abroad —
to prevent disruptive influences,
for purity of culture, internal peace.

Now Japan is a very small country, a nation of islands.
Imagine the wanderlust, the cabin fever, living within
such circumscribed boundaries for a lifetime, for ten lifetimes!
Thus, elaborate ritual journeys evolved, with way stations,
pilgrimages and shrines,
measured by small distances and changing views
of sacred Mount Fuji.
And so began, too, the practice
of painting the serial journey. First Hokusai’s
woodcuts, 36 views of Mount Fuji,
then 48 views, then 100, seen, and reseen,
with fresh perspectives and characters.
He inspired Hiroshigi’s 36 views of Mount Fuji,
and 100 Famous Views of Edo.

Ukiyo-e—pleasures of the floating world.
When I see these two characters, in their brilliant orange,
green and blue, their flashy feathers like costumes of kabuki players,
or perhaps priests for a ritual, standing on a classic cobalt,
ultramarine and white textile, under the subtle
presence of stacked orange persimmons
one looming high above like Mount Fuji, peeking over
the lip of a spring green colander, pierced with dark constellations—
I wonder if Sally, ensconced at her studio table, thinks of Hokusai,
and Mount Fuji, when she travels over, under, around, through
her tabletop landscapes, painting her luminous
36, 48, 100 views of persimmons.


(
ekphrasis*: the description of a work of visual art)

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Sky in the Water

15 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Dreams, En plein air, Landscape, Painting

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Adirondack, ArtsFest, Broadway, canoe, Cubist, dreamspace, hats, lake, mirror, organic, reflections, Saratoga Springs, storefronts, upstate New York, Victorian windows

I return to my roots in upstate New York every summer to paint at a small Adirondack lake. I am enchanted by the exquisite flat-water times of day, early morning as dawn breaks through the mist, and luminous calm evenings—when the sun sets among the clouds in the water, and loon calls echo across the lake—when everything is seen twice: in solid and liquid form. My only conflict then is whether to paint or canoe, as those are the primo inspirational conditions for both activities! I paint from the experience of being in the water, on the water, next to the water, above the water. I am drawn to water and water draws me.

Marsha-Connell-Sky in the Water 2-oil-24x24"- 2007

Marsha-Connell-Sky in the Water 2-oil-24×24″

I was invited to demonstrate  “plein air” painting in the nearby Saratoga Springs, New York, ArtsFest at its inception five years ago. With my outdoor studio set up on the main street, I—painter of waterways, gardens, fields, mountains, trees—searched for the natural landscape. Looking up, I discovered the sky mirrored in Victorian windows, like a glassy morning lake, and, looking right in front of myself. . . the landscapes of storefronts, with reflections of the passing scene (even myself) in the windows.

Marsha-Connell-460 Broadway-oil- 24x18"-2007

Marsha-Connell-460 Broadway-oil- 24×18″

This was the catalyst for my painting series “Hats on Broadway”, reflecting Saratoga’s passions, and mine. Constructed like organic/cubist/painterly collages, these oils became a bridge for me between painting and collage, between landscape and still life, between interior and exterior, between dreamspace and literal space.

Marsha-Connell-Flag Day-Saratoga Springs-0il-20x16"-2007

Marsha-Connell-Flag Day-Saratoga Springs-0il-20×16″

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Spirit of Place

12 Sunday May 2013

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, En plein air, Landscape, Painting

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abstract sensibility, Adirondack chairs, Adirondacks, brushstrokes, Catskills, colorist, farm, garden, glazing, interior landscape, Mother, painterly, place of the heart, scumbling, seasons

Marsha-Connell-Surrounded byI paint through the seasons, “en plein air,” surrounded by pools of texture and color, in both the natural and the human-altered landscape. From mountain meadows and lakes to lavender gardens and urban shop windows, resonant themes emerge. I notice how a place affects my interior landscape, and how my painting reflects the spirit of a place.

Watching, listening, hiking, dancing with trees — trusting intuition and gesture — infuses the work with an abstract sensibility. My approach is colorist and painterly — images emerge from the rhythms of brushstrokes. I do not require fidelity to local color; expressive color may feel more true. Glazing and scumbling layers of color builds depth and luminosity, softens edges. This may evoke a place of some mystery, a place of the heart.

Marsha-Connell-Mother Garden 3-oil- 43x36" 2005

Marsha-Connell-Mother Garden 3-oil- 43×36″

This painting was inspired by the splendid “Mother Garden” at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. Its abundant old-fashioned plants and worn Adirondack chairs evoked memories of my grandparents’ farm between the Catskills and the Adirondacks.

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Collage and Dream Vessels

08 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Collage, Dreams, Healing art

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Dream symbols, Found images, Gulf War Dream, Unconscious, Vanitas

Life Before Her Eyes: Dream Vessels #117

Marsha Connell, Life Before Her Eyes: Dream Vessels #117

A premonition of the first Gulf War in a dream, and my daughter in Jerusalem for her junior year abroad, impelled me to create the Dream Vessels collages. Begun in 1991, my “letters without words” have grown to an over twenty year series. I have made the collages as a healing practice. Sharing them, I hope to heal the world.

A collage often begins with a wisp of a dream image, and a collection of “found images” that dialogue with it. Through both intention and the unconscious, I follow relationships of content, feeling, color, and shape as they transform into an aspect of the dream or  an unexpected scenario. Recurring themes include houses with rooms I have never before visited, danger from fire or water or heights, youth and old age, journeys. “Vanitas” symbols—the awareness of death within the sweetness of life—such as skulls, eggs, wings, timepieces, are touchstones, as I set sail on the sea of dreams.

Marsha-Connell-Metronome-Dream Vessels #125

Marsha Connell, Metronome: Dream Vessels #125

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Marsha Connell Studio

  • About
  • Contact and Social Media
  • Gallery Five – Seasonal Paintings, A Pepperwood Sonata
  • Gallery Four – Artist in Residence at Pepperwood Preserve
  • Gallery One – Lakes and Gardens
  • Gallery Seven – Pastel Landscape and Still Life
  • Gallery Six – A Murder of Crows
  • Gallery Three – Hats on Broadway
  • MEET SONOMA COUNTY ARTIST MARSHA CONNELL by Satri Pencak
  • Gallery Two – Pond in Bloom
  • Art Workshops

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Marsha Connell Studio

Marsha Connell Studio

Articles

  • Gathering Clouds Magazine past Issue #2 (3) "Color & Mood" Marsha Connell and others. . .”My paintings are a dance in color, a moving meditation in the landscape,” pages 4-9.

Artist Website

  • Sally Baker

Blogroll

  • WordPress.com
  • WordPress.org

Books

  • A Murder of Crows: Three Artists, Three Objects, Three Images Catalog of an exhibit by Sally Baker, Marsha Connell, Micah Schwaberow. This exhibit has traveled and is available to more venues! *Murder is the collective noun used to describe a group of crows.

Collections

  • Art Talk / The Doyle Collection / Santa Rosa Junior College Libraries Art Talk captures the inspirations and experiences of artists showcased in The Doyle Collection. Click on each artwork to see the full set of videos for each artist.
  • The Doyle Collection, Santa Rosa Junior College Library I am honored to have three paintings included in this permanent collection: “Dissolve – Three Tree Hill”, “Salmon Barn”, and “Dusk at Duncan’s Landing”. They can be viewed on the 4th floor of the Doyle Library.

Fundraising website

  • Amy's Healing Journey: A Fund- and Spirit- Raiser Fundraising website for Amy Connell

My Art Website

  • Marsha Connell Fine Art Expressive Landscape Paintings, Dream Vessels Collages, Workshops

Nature Preserve

  • Pepperwood Preserve

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