• Home
  • About
  • Contact and Social Media
  • Art Workshops
  • Gallery One – Lakes and Gardens
  • 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

Tag Archives: demonstrate

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

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

     

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Spring Retreat at Pepperwood Preserve: Landscape Painting “En Plein Air”

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Landscape, Oils, Painting, Pastel, Pepperwood Preserve

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

art, California, demonstrate, drawing, exploration, inspiration, landscapes, nature, observation, oils, Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma county, techniques, weekends, workshop

8-Marsha Connell-Poppy Fields at Pepperwood-oil- 15x30"-2008

Expressing the Spirit of Place

Spend an exciting weekend painting on location in iconic Sonoma County landscapes with Santa Rosa Junior College instructor Marsha Connell. Engage your senses and the body to awaken an energetic connection with the land.

Plein air painters share a commitment with scientists to deep observation, to documenting and protecting our open spaces for future generations, and to sharing the joys and solace of nature.

Beginning painters: learn basics of working in the field. Experienced painters: practice and expand your repertoire. Explore aspects of realism, impressionism, expressionism, or abstraction. Enjoy support for finding your own painting voice to express the spirit of this special place.

Use any painting or drawing media. Demonstrations will be given in oils, drawing, and pastel. You are invited to stay overnight at the Bechtel House or camp under the stars. The retreat includes moderate hikes of less than a mile at a slow pace with long stops.

A catered dinner Saturday night and continental breakfast on Sunday are included. Saturday’s schedule includes evening sunset painting. A materials list and instructions will be sent to participants in advance.

Saturday, May 30, 9am-3pm & 6:30pm-8:30pm
AND Sunday, May 31, 2015, 9am-3pm
with optional overnight

FEES: $170 per participant
($150 for members) Ages 13 and up welcome

More info>

http://app.pepperwoodpreserve.org/pls/apex/f?p=514:2:7453991560835
Reserve here> http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/898371

7-Marsha Connell-Swift Sunset, 12x24"

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

LIVELY PASTELS: BRIDGE BETWEEN DRAWINGS & PAINTING at Mendocino Art Center, July 31-August 2

26 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Landscape, Painting, Pastel, Still Life, Workshops

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

August, California, Coastal, demonstrate, interior landscape, Marsha Connell, Mendocino Art Center, nature, painterly, September, tabletop, weekends

LIVELY PASTELS: BRIDGE BETWEEN DRAWINGS & PAINTING at Mendocino Art Center, July 31-August 2.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

LIVELY PASTELS: BRIDGE BETWEEN DRAWINGS & PAINTING at Mendocino Art Center, July 31-August 2

26 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Marsha Connell in Art workshops, Drawing, En plein air, Landscape, Painting, Pastel, Workshops

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Adirondack, art, Celebrity, Coastal, colorist, demonstrate, drawing, Mendocino Art Center, Paint Out, Registration

I’m happy to be returning to the Mendocino Art Center and offering a much requested workshop in a coastal village that is dear to my heart—Connell_Pastel_2_L9K1441E-Mail

LIVELY PASTELS: BRIDGE BETWEEN DRAWINGS AND PAINTING
July 31–August 2, 2015
IMG_2657

more info, materials list and online registration

IMG_0144And I’ll be there again as a “celebrity artist” for the Mendocino Art Center’s Mendocino Open Paint Out, September 7-12, 2015.

It would be lovely if you could join us!

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

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

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow via RSS

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

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

Archives

  • April 2023
  • April 2021
  • September 2020
  • February 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • October 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • October 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • October 2013
  • May 2013

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Marsha Connell Studio
    • Join 58 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Marsha Connell Studio
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: