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

Marsha Connell Studio

Marsha Connell Studio

Category Archives: Art workshops

I’m excited to be offering two plein air painting workshops in May

12 Wednesday Apr 2017

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Event, Landscape, Laufenburg Ranch, Oils, Painting, Pastel, Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma county, Sonoma Land Trust, Watercolor, Workshops

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barns, California, Environment, nature, spirit

These painting workshops will be held at stunning Sonoma County sites that are only accessible via the conservation groups that protect them from development, Pepperwood Preserve and Laufenburg Ranch. Painting in community, with guidance and support from an enthusiastic and practiced plein air painter, could be a great way to kick off your summer painting season or vacation time. You are welcome to join us for one or both sessions, whether you are an experienced painter or haven’t picked up a bush or pastel since childhood. Scientists, hikers, and students, painting and drawing deepen your powers of observation which translates to many disciplines.

IMG_1318.jpg

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Two Landscape Painting Workshops

09 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Event, Landscape, Laufenburg Ranch, Oils, Painting, Pastel, Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma county, Sonoma Land Trust, Watercolor, Workshops

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barns, bucolic, California, Calistoga, creeks, Environment, expressionist, hillsides, impressionist, inspiration, Mt. St. Helena, nature, orchards, realist, spirit, techniques, tonalist, wildflowers

Marsha Connell #PaintCamp - Version 2.jpg

Recording & Expressing “Spirit of Place”

Sunday, May 7, 2017, 9am – 3pm
Pepperwood Preserve
2130 Pepperwood Preserve Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95404

Meet at the Bechtel House
$45 per participant ($40 for members)
For ages 13 and up

Explore plein air painting with artist and Santa Rosa Junior College instructor Marsha Connell. Deepen your naturalist and artist observational skills. Express your responses to Pepperwood’s verdant and blossoming spring landscape. Open to beginning painters, who will learn basics of working in the field, and experienced painters, who may expand their repertoire and enjoy support for finding their own voice. Demonstrations will be given in oil and pastel,  but students may use any drawing or painting media of their choice.

Marsha’s approach to landscape painting conveys the spirit of place and evokes the mood of the inner landscape. Marsha has also taught at Sonoma State University and at a variety of other venues in the US, Mexico and France.

A suggested materials list will be sent upon registration.

Reserve your spot

Painting Iconic Rural Landscapes

Saturday May 13, 2017, 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Class level: All levels
Class Size: 6-15

$60 per person, $45 per Sonoma Land Trust member

Learn how to convey the spirit of place and embody the rhythms and forms of the landscape in this plein air painting workshop at Sonoma Land Trusts’ legendary Laufenburg Ranch near Calistoga. Beginning and longtime artists alike can benefit from Marsha’s expertise and extensive history of teaching, which brings out the joy of the creative process.

Enjoy a day in the bucolic setting of Laufenburg Ranch in Knight’s Valley. Create a record of your experience, which might include the magnificent 1883 barn, native oaks, old orchards, creek and hillsides, even Mt St Helena, by painting in the field. Explore gesture, shape, composition, light and shadow. Beginning artists: learn the basics of using painting materials and composing images. Experienced painters: expand your repertoire of painting techniques and visual approaches, realist, tonalist, impressionist, expressionist. Demonstrations will be given in oil and pastel, but you may use any drawing or painting media of your choice.

Materials Required: You will be able to do this with simple minimal supplies, for example, just black and white or three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) of oil or acrylic, and one brush, or a basic small set of pastels, or any materials you may already have.

Sign up here

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Landscape Painting at Pepperwood Preserve. May 15

10 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Landscape, Painting, Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma county, Watercolor, Workshops

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abstract sensibility, art, brushstrokes, California, colorist, demonstrate, en plein air, Expressionism, Impressionism, joy, landscapes, Marsha Connell, nature, observation, oils, painterly, painters, paintings, Pepperwood Preserve, Realism, Sonoma county, voice, watercolor, weekends, wildflowers, workshop

There are just a few spots left. Sign up by Thursday May 12 noon!
Landscape Painting: Observation and Expression. Sunday, May 15, 9am – 3pm
Only $45 per participant ($40 for members)!
Ages 13+
Explore plein air painting with me! Deepen your observational skills and express your responses to Pepperwood’s verdant and blossoming spring landscape. The continuing rains have gifted us with wildflower joy this year!
Beginning painters: learn basics of working in the field. Experienced painters: expand your repertoire with elements of realism, impressionism, expressionism, with support for finding your own voice. Demonstrations in oil but you may use any media.Marsha Connell-The Warmth of Autumn, o/c, 24 x 24", 2010

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STEM to STEAM

03 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Landscape, Lecture, Painting, Pepperwood Preserve, sketching, Workshops

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art, artists, California, class, collaboration, drawing, journaling, landscapes, Marsha Connell, Mt. St. Helena, naturalist, nature, observation, paintings, Pepperwood Preserve, science, Sonoma county, STEAM

Go left to science, right for art

By Sandi Funke, Education Director

Posted on http://www.pepperwoodpreserve.org/2016/03/29/go-left-to-science-right-for-art/

March 29, 2016 Categories: Blog, Education 1

When I was a student in high school back in the *throat-clearing* 1980’s, our fully enclosed Midwestern high school had “wings.” All of the humanities and language classes were upstairs. Downstairs to the left there was a long winding hallway which housed the science classrooms. These halls always smelled a little funky and to me, they represented hands-on, relevant learning. Way at the other end of school were the hallways where the visual arts classes happened. I often craned my neck looking at the desktop easels to get a glimpse of what those classes were working on. I have always LOVED to draw, but in high school, drawing and painting weren’t “college prep” classes so I didn’t take many of them. I took so many science classes however, that they added up to 6 years of high school science.

What if things had been different?

IMG_8070
STEM represents the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. STEM seeks to integrate these subjects while focusing on solving real-world problems in education and research. The STEM to STEAM movement, led by the Rhode Island School of Design, adds “Art and Design to the national agenda of STEM education and research in America. STEM + Art = STEAM”. The objective is to “foster the true innovation that comes with combining the mind of a scientist or technologist with that of an artist or designer.”

How would our world be different if artists and art were regularly included in scientific endeavors?

STEAM in our Own Backyard
Last year, Sonoma State University took the creative step of integrating authentic natural sounds with music and dance. With training from nationally known bioacoustics expert Dr. Bernie Krause, students from SSU recorded a diversity of sounds in the field at SSU’s Fairfield Osborne and Galbreath Wildlands Preserves. The recordings were given to composer Jesse Olsen Bay, who created an original composition. Choreographers Christine Cali and Kristen Daley and dance students used the original score to explore the sounds and create a dance performance. The collaboration was shared with the public last fall. Check it out here.

Art and Science Merge at Pepperwood
Collaboration is also central to the relationship between Santa Rosa Junior College visual artist and instructor Marsha Connell and biology instructor Shawn Brumbaugh. Marsha and Shawn discovered their common interests through co-teaching the Natural History of Pepperwood course, which certifies participants as UC California Naturalists. This course, which served as the pilot for the now state-wide program, emphasizes sketching, nature journaling, and practicing deep observation as fundamental skills for naturalists of all experience levels.

Marsha and Shawn will be presenting a Discover Nature lecture entitled The Synergy of Art and Science – Perspectives of Pepperwood on April 1st, 2016. Through lush slides of artistic renderings of the environment and its inhabitants, they will discuss the relationship between art and science including the historical importance of sketching in documenting scientific inquiry. Click here for more info on the lecture.

Later in the season, you can deepen your own observational skills and express your responses to Pepperwood’s verdant and blossoming spring landscape through a Landscape Painting class with Marsha on May 15th, 2016. Click here to learn more about this class.

Poppy Fields at Pepperwood. 2008 o/c

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Go Left to Science, Right for Art, April 1 Pepperwood Preserve

01 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Landscape, Lecture, Painting, Pepperwood Preserve, sketching, Slide Show, Sonoma County Art Trails, Watercolor, Workshops

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abstract sensibility, art, brushstrokes, California, colorist, drawing, landscapes, Marsha Connell, nature, oils, painterly, paintings, Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma county, watercolor

DISCOVER NATURE
The Synergy of Art and Science:
Perspectives of Pepperwood
This Friday, April 1, 2016
6:30pm open house, 7pm lecture

Come with all your senses tuned in for a lecture and visual tour of Pepperwood’s 3,200 acre preserve that explores the synergy of art and science. Shawn Brumbaugh, Santa Rosa Junior College biology instructor joins artist and art instructor Marsha Connell on a painting and drawing journey observing and interpreting Pepperwood’s majestic landscapes. Our presenters will also discuss the historical importance of sketching in documenting scientific inquiry. Click here for more info.

Sandi Funke, Education Director at Pepperwood Preserve, wrote an excellent blog post about STEM to STEAM, and the valuable wholeness of the relationship between art and science. http://www.pepperwoodpreserve.org/2016/03/29/go-left-to-science-right-for-art/

Marsha Connell demonstrates painting at Pepperwood Preserve
Marsha Connell demonstrates painting at Pepperwood Preserve

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What do you see? I’d like to know! And an Events Calendar

16 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Art workshops, En plein air, Exhibits, Landscape, Lecture, Mendocino Art Center, Oils, Open Studios, Painting, Pastel, Pepperwood Preserve, Poetry, Slide Show, Sonoma County Art Trails, Uncategorized, Workshops

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.corricks.com, abstract sensibility, art, artist in residence, Artists Round Table, California, Chroma Gallery, colorist, commissions, demonstrations, drawing, Dutton-Goldfield Winery, gallery, Graton Gallery, landscapes, Marsha Connell, Mendocino Art Center, nature, oils, open studio, painterly, paintings, Pepperwood Preserve, scientific inquiry, sketching, Sonoma county, techniques, watercolor

Marsha-Connell_Headlands Passage_Oil_16X20"_2015

A visitor to my current exhibit at Dutton Goldfield Winery wrote to me, “Thank you for bringing me into your world through your art. I’m swimming in colors!” Another viewer said, “Wonderful! Your work has a lot of movement and is emotionally evocative!”

Once I was painting at a rambling old farm with multiple buildings surrounded by hills.  I was intrigued by how two barns framed the landscape behind, the shape of the space in between the structures, the abstract puzzle of it all, the color, the quality of the light. The farmer came up behind me, watching, thinking, and finally observed “I’ve lived here fifty years and I’ve never seen what you see!”

What do you see when you view my paintings? I’d like to know your experience. If putting this into words intrigues you, please drop me a line, or a poem.

Here’s some settings where you can view my art in person, a listing so far for 2016. Workshops and lectures, too. Several shows include a lot of other artists’ fine and varied works. You can also visit the virtual galleries here on this blog site. Enjoy!

January 22 –March 14, 2016  Open daily 10am to 4:30pm
Dutton-Goldfield Winery
COAST AND COUNTRYSIDE: MARSHA CONNELL’S
PLEIN AIR LANDSCAPES OF SONOMA, MARIN and
MENDOCINO

3100 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472

SMALL WORKS SHOWS 2016
1. Jan­­-Feb 28 Th-Sat 10:30-5, Sun 10:30-4
Graton Gallery

2. Feb 4-Mar 5 Th-Sat 11-4, Sun 11-2
Chroma Gallery
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa, CA

Friday, April 1, 2016. 7 pm lecture. Open house 6:30 pm, Dwight Center
Pepperwood Preserve

DISCOVER NATURE: THE SYNERGY OF ART AND SCIENCE
Come with all your senses tuned for a lecture and visual tour of Pepperwood’s 3,200 acre preserve. Shawn Brumbaugh, Santa Rosa Junior College biology instructor joins artist Marsha Connell on a painting and drawing journey observing and interpreting Pepperwood’s majestic landscapes and discussing the historical importance of sketching to document scientific inquiry.

April 16–17, 2016
Mendocino Art Center online registration
LIVELY PASTELS: A COLORFUL EXPLORATION
Instructor: Marsha Connell
Pastels are one of the purest forms of artists’ colors. We’ll explore energetic, “painterly” approaches to using these beautiful pigments while learning about pastel techniques and materials.

Sunday, May 15, 2016, 9 am – 3 pm
Pepperwood Preserve   RESERVE NOW >
LANDSCAPE PAINTING WORKSHOP: OBSERVATION AND EXPRESSION
Deepen observational skills and express your responses to Pepperwood’s blossoming spring landscape. Explore plein air painting with artist in residence Marsha Connell. Beginning painters learn basics of working in the field. Experienced painters expand your repertoire with support for finding your own voice. Demonstrations in oil but you may use any media.

Wednesday March 2, 1 pm – 2:45 pm
Artists Round Table

DEMONSTRATION: PASTEL INTO OIL
Santa Rosa Veterans Building, 3850 Maple Street.

Sonoma County Art Trails Gallery at Corrick’s
Daily 10-5
FIRST FRIDAY ARTISTS’ RECEPTIONS
5-7pm
637 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. 707-546-2424

October 8, 9, 15, 16
SONOMA COUNTY ART TRAILS OPEN STUDIOS

My studio is also open year round by appointment.
Studio location: 2180 Beverly Way, Santa Rosa, 95404

*Questions, purchases, commissions, workshops:
contact sponsor or 
marsha@marshaconnell.com

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MARSHA CONNELL’S ART EVENTS Late 2015-2016

16 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Exhibits, Landscape, Lecture, Mendocino Art Center, Oils, Open Studios, Painting, Pastel, Pepperwood Preserve, Slide Show, Sonoma County Art Trails, Uncategorized, Watercolor, Workshops

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art, California, drawing, gallery, landscapes, nature, paintings, Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma county

IMG_2234

MARSHA CONNELL’S
ART EVENTS:
Exhibits, Talks, Workshops
December 2015-October 2016

Questions, purchases or commissions, workshops: contact sponsoring organization or marshaconnell.wordpress.com/contact   or   marsha@marshaconnell.com

Now through December 31, 2015
History Museum of Sonoma County  – Gift Shop
A COLLECTION OF MY PAINTINGS, PRINTS AND CARDS
425 7th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-5pm

February 20, 2015-January 30, 2016
Sonoma West Medical Center
SONOMA LANDSCAPES: FOUR ARTISTS
501 Petaluma Avenue, Sebastopol, CA
Open 24 hours

November 20-January 16, 2016. Sonoma County Art Trails Gallery at Corrick’s and My Daughter the Framer www.corricks.com
SONOMA COUNTY ART TRAILS GROUP EXHIBIT “INSPIRED BY NATURE”
co-sponsored by Pepperwood Preserve.
637 4th St, Santa Rosa, California (707) 546-2424

November 6 – January 3, 2016
The OCA Gallery at Occidental Center for the Arts occidentalcenterforthearts.org
ENERGY MATERIALIZED. Sculptures by Bruce Johnson and Riis Burwell. Abstract paintings juried by Healdsburg gallery owner Paul Mahder. (Honorable mention painting award.) Open F, Sa 11-4, Su 12:30-4:30, by appt and during events. 3850 Doris Murphy Ct., Occidental.

January 9-February 7, 2016
Sebastopol Center for the Arts http://sebarts.org
CALIFORNIA WATERMEDIA EXHIBIT
Juried By Christopher Schink (Merit award)
282 S. High Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472  707.829.4797
Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10am – 4pm / Saturday & Sunday 1 – 4pm

January 22 –March 14, 2016
Dutton-Goldfield Winery www.duttongoldfield.com
COAST AND COUNTRYSIDE: MARSHA CONNELL’S
PLEIN AIR LANDSCAPES OF SONOMA, MENDOCINO and MARIN
Artist’s reception Sunday January 24, 1 pm – 3 pm
3100 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472

Friday, April 1, 2016. 7 pm lecture. Open house 6:30 pm, Dwight Center
Pepperwood Preserve
www.pepperwoodpreserve.org/
DISCOVER NATURE: THE SYNERGY OF ART AND SCIENCE
Come with all your senses tuned for a lecture and visual tour of Pepperwood’s 3,200 acre preserve. Shawn Brumbaugh, Santa Rosa Junior College biology instructor joins artist Marsha Connell on a painting and drawing journey observing and interpreting Pepperwood’s majestic landscapes and discussing the historical importance of sketching to document scientific inquiry.

April 16–17, 2016
Mendocino Art Center www.mendocinoartcenter.org/
LIVELY PASTELS: A COLORFUL EXPLORATION
Instructor: Marsha Connell
Pastels are one of the purest forms of artists’ colors. We’ll explore energetic, “painterly” approaches to using these beautiful pigments while learning about pastel techniques and materials.

Sunday, May 15, 2016, 9 am – 3 pm
Pepperwood Preserve www.pepperwoodpreserve.org
LANDSCAPE PAINTING WORKSHOP: OBSERVATION AND EXPRESSION
Deepen observational skills and express your responses to Pepperwood’s blossoming spring landscape. Explore plein air painting with artist in residence Marsha Connell. Beginning painters learn basics of working in the field. Experienced painters expand your repertoire with support for finding your own voice. Demonstrations in oil but you may use any media.

Wednesday October 5, 1 pm – 2:45 pm
Artists Round Table
www.artsoco.org
DEMONSTRATION: PASTEL INTO OIL
Santa Rosa Veterans Building, 3850 Maple Street.

October 8, 9, 15, 16
SONOMA COUNTY ART TRAILS OPEN STUDIOS
www.sonomacountyarttrails.org
My studio is also open year round by appointment.
Studio location: 2180 Beverly Way, Santa Rosa, 95404


 

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Setting up that tasty pastel palette, some technical details

04 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Exhibits, Landscape, Mendocino Art Center, Open Studios, Painting, Pastel, Sonoma County Art Trails, Watercolor

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art, California, cards, Coastal, demonstrate, discussing, drawing, en plein air, Mendocino Art Center, October, open studios, paintings, pastel, Santa Rosa, Sonoma county, techniques, watercolor, weekends, workshop

There will be color hors d’oeuvres and tasty demos of pastel and watercolor at noon each day of my open studio (click for catalog page), Oct 10, 11, 17, 18. Click for map.

I’ve always loved an essay by Henry Miller in “Paint as You Like and Die Happy” about hungry painters discussing the juicy names of colors like hors d’oeuvres!

My plein air pastel boxHere’s the container for my tasty new pastel palette. Good enough to eat?!
I researched many pastel boxes and easels ’til settling on this Heilman backpacking box. I might like a larger box, but not a heavier one. Then I made a switch from my trusty but weighty French easel to an old camera tripod, attaching a “quick release” gadget from the photo store (Glad I brought my filled pastel box and tripod along to work it out.), inserting the Heilman metal easel into the two pre-drilled holes in the opened pastel box. This, theoretically, lightened the potential load by 6 pounds. I attach my Bestbrella to the tripod legs. I can carry all into a deep backpack.

My new plein air pastel set up is a work in progress. It was a dramatic move to peel and break off chunks from my collections of many years, stored in several kinds of boxes, mostly Unison, Rembrandt, Nupastel, Sennelier, with additional samples from Terry Ludwig, Diane Townsend, Schmincke, and more. Sometimes I’ve bought pastels in sets, when they come in their own box, sometimes by the stick. Creating and recreating order after making each painting, light to dark, warm to cool, more or less, and cleaning the pastels to let their color shine through and speak with each other, is an intellectual, meditative and time-taking experience.

Pastel painting in progress Mendocino Headlands West 3  Pastel painting in progress Mendocino Headlands West 2Pastel painting in progress Mendocino Headlands WestI had my misgivings about the stability of this set-up. So far it held up well painting during Mendocino Open Plein Air, which was a week of extraordinarily calm and sunny coastal weather. http://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/pleinair.

The blue flag was for viewers to find the “celebrity artists”. I was the pastel specialist, a good motivation for setting a deadline to reorganize. And two weeks before I taught a Mendocino Art Center workshop “Lively Pastels”. I’ll teach this again April 16-17, 2016.

It’s harder to detach the box than to set up. Inside, I use a table and/or a studio easel and keep carrying pastel paintings outside to knock off the extra dust between layers.

  • Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino Open Paint Out – September 7-12, 2015

    mendocinoartcenter.org

    You might enjoy seeing more examples of pastel set-ups and conversation among artists here: Pastel Society of America
    Adrian Frankel Giuliani
    Yesterday at 1:22pm
    that would be Oct 3, 2015

     

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The Pastel Society of the West Coast, Featured Artist: Marsha Connell. E-Blast

21 Thursday May 2015

Posted by Marsha Connell in #PACE15, Art, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Landscape, Mendocino Art Center, Oils, Painting, Pastel, Watercolor, Workshops

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

abstract sensibility, art, brushstrokes, California, Coastal, colorist, demonstrate, drawing, en plein air, exploration, expressive, gallery, gesture, interior landscape, landscapes, Mendocino Art Center, nature, oils, painterly, paintings, scumbling, Sonoma county, techniques, watercolor, workshop

Thank you Jan Thomas for this excellent interview and introduction to members of the Pastel Society of the West Coast, which I recently joined while attending #PACE15, the Plein Air Convention in Monterey, CA. As it is only available by email, I am republishing the interview here, with Jan’s permission. I’ve added information about the Pastel Society from their website at the end .

Featured Artist: Marsha Connell.
The Pastel Society of the West Coast, E-Blast

Across from Mendocino Art Center, I dream of what might take place in these studios . . . the camera would show them in their richly dark brown grey wood.

 Featured Artist

 Marsha Connell

My paintings are about the spirit of place. Painting on location, en plein air,
 I observe the place: mood, shapes, color, and spatial relationships.
 I reflect on how the sense of place affects my own interior landscape.
 I am attentive to nuances of color and value, but do not require fidelity to local color; expressive color often feels more true. Watching, listening, trusting intuition and gesture, infuse my painterly representation with an abstract sensibility.
–Marsha Connell

Taking back roads to Occidental, I was smitten with a hillside of wildflowers and waving grasses, changing colors and shapes in the wind, like rising and falling music.

When looking at one of Marsha Connell’s expressionist paintings, in both pastel and oil, one can almost see the dancer that she is moving across the surface leaving behind rhythmic nuances of gesture and color.

A plein air painter, Marsha developed a deep connection to the land as a child. Her grandfather, Samuel Riss, a farmer in upstate New York, was also an artist who influenced Marsha’s love of drawing and encouraged her to pursue her craft with diligence and courage. Today, she has shelves of sketchbooks saved from years of sketching outdoors, filled with energetic drawings of landscapes. She says these drawings are dialogs with nature, creating an attachment to the living world, and birthing paintings that portray mood and feeling. Her plein air forays always include sufficient time to roam and to do as many sketches as necessary to get a sense of connection with a place. When she begins to paint, this energy is translated directly to her surface; rarely does she start with an initial drawing. Instead, she relishes the immediacy of putting pigment to paper with a “get it before it’s gone” intensity. Her colors are “responsive to nature”, but she relies on intuition to provide what she feels the painting needs.

Marsha’s first and ongoing love in painting is pastel, for its natural connection to drawing, the immediacy of pure color, the shimmer of its layering, and the convenience of carrying into the landscape. Her natural voice in pastel comes through in her oil and watercolor paintings, especially in the soft edges, visible brush strokes like drawing, and scumbled color over color.

A mile hike to an overlook of Mendocino's Big River distilled on the spot and in memory in the studio to this shimmering many layered pastel.

Marsha is a long-time Adjunct Professor of Art at Santa Rosa Junior College and also teaches workshops throughout the year. Her goals as a teacher are to offer people tools and working processes that give them comfort and confidence to explore and create with joy. She supports people in finding their own context and path and their authenticity as artists. While she is happy to demonstrate technique and supplies, she also offers a broader artistic scope, introducing students to the work of other artists, current and past, and inviting dialog that stimulates creativity and expression. She encourages students to take advantage of the workshop setting to try new things, to approach many subjects courageously, and to allow their paintings to be unfinished works in progress.

Connell_Pastel_1_L9K1438E-Mail                               River Passage, 16″ x 20″ – Pastel

Artists at any level seeking to energize their work, or refine their artistic direction, or to simply learn how to use pastels, will want to checkout “Lively Pastels: A Bridge Between Drawing and Painting,” a workshop that Marsha is offering in Mendocino, California, July 31 – August 2, 2015 at the Mendocino Art Center. A charming seaside village, Mendocino offers a wealth of inspiring painting venues: quaint cottages, lush gardens, dramatic bluffs and, of course, the ocean, all within walking distance of the Art Center. Marsha has led workshops and given presentations in many California venues, and also in Mexico, New Mexico, Oregon, New York, Tennessee, Alaska, and France. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows regionally and internationally. More information about the pastel workshop can be found at www.mendocinoartcenter.org/Summer15/Connell.html

I sit near cliff edges, awaiting moments of sudden illumination. What emerges on the page is a distillation of moments, and an invention, a response to an often fleeting rush of feeling and visual event.

Marsha will be a celebrity artist, and give pastel painting demonstrations, for the Mendocino Art Center’s Mendocino Open Paint Out, September 7-12, 2015.

http://www.marshaconnell.com

 Submitted by Jan Thomas

Want to be a Featured Artist on the eBlast? In an effort to get to know you, PSWC will feature a member artist every month in the eBlast. If you would like to be the featured artist in the newsletter, submit your name, telephone number and a photo of your recent work to president@pwcs.ws You will be directed to the website, click on Contact.

Pastel Society of the West Coast
P.O. Box 4518 · Stockton, CA 95204-0518
www.pswc.ws

Welcome to the Pastel Society of the West Coast

About Pastel Society of the West Coast

PSWC was organized in 1984 to promote pastel artists and the soft pastel medium.

We offer opportunities for pastel artists through “pastels only” exhibitions in

Highlighted itemMembership, International Open Shows
Highlighted itemInformative demonstrations by recognized pastel artists.

An emailed Newsletter for pastel artists is included with PSWC membership and all pastelists are invited to join. Pastel workshops, classes, exhibitions and pastel related editorial articles can be found in the newsletter.

PSWC members are from all around the US from New York to California.

The Pastel Society of the West Coast is incorporated as a non-profit organization. The PSWC is run completely by volunteer Board Members and others.

Pastel Society of the West Coast | 7251 Baldwin Dam Road | Folsom | CA | 95630

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En plein air and in the studio: Mendocino pastel workshop and more plein air news

24 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by Marsha Connell in #PACE15, Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Landscape, Mendocino Art Center, Painting, Pastel, Pepperwood Preserve, Still Life

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

#PACE15, California, Coastal, en plein air, Mendocino Art Center, Monterey, pastel, weekends, workshop

I’ve just returned from 5 days in Monterey at “the Woodstock of plein air painting” with 700+ painters at #PACE15, the 4th Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo. I attended lectures, demos and critiques by many accomplished artists in oil, pastel and watercolor, and painted every afternoon on the beautiful, and windy, central coast of California. I’m refreshed and re-inspired to share the joys of the plein air painting experience with others!

Marsha Connell_Bluff–Looking Up_pastel_16x20"

My Spring Retreat at Pepperwood Preserve: Landscape Painting “En Plein Air” is filled! but happily there is still space in my summer Mendocino pastel workshop, en plein air and in the studio. LIVELY PASTELS: BRIDGE BETWEEN DRAWINGS AND PAINTING. July 31–August 2, 2015 (Friday–Sunday, 9:30am–4:30pm) SU15FA513 • For all levels. You can register online @ http://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/Summer15/Connell.html
Or call 707 937-5818, ext. 10. Toll-free 800 653-3328, ext. 10

Marsha Connell_Bluff–Looking Down_pastel_16x20"

I’ll be there again for the Mendocino Art Center’s “Mendocino Open Paint Out”, September 7-12. I’m honored to have been invited as one of eight “celebrity artists”. In addition to painting every day on location, in public view with many other painters, I’ll be demonstrating pastel painting and serving as a juror to award prizes to participants. Mendocino boasts a spectacular coastal location and a charming and walkable New England style small town. It would be lovely if you could join us! http://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/pleinairMarsha Connell_Blue Moon_pastel_16x20"

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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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