Painting Pepperwood’s Landscapes

Tags

en plein air, landscapes, Paint Out, paintings, Pepperwood Preserve, workshop

 

Are you hungering to return to the joys of plein air painting in a unique location? Would you like to practice seeing more deeply with brush or pastel in hand?

Come paint with me during the glorious wildflower season at Pepperwood Preserve on Saturday May 1.
Seeking vaccinated painters beginning or experienced. Class will be entirely outside with Covid guidelines followed. This will give us the camaraderie and intimacy of being with just a small group of people while spaciously arrayed in the landscape. 

Pepperwood  Preserve is over 3000 acres located  above Safari West between Santa Rosa and Calistoga. We will be headquartered on the hillsides near the Bechtel House.

You’re welcome to paint in any media at any size. I plan to demo some approaches with oil and with pastel. I also paint in watercolor and acrylic, and find drawing and sketching a profound way to connect with nature. My intention is to support and encourage you in directions of your choice. 
Use any art materials you already have. But please read my supply ideas list which will come with registration confirmation, for reminders of how to prepare for a day in the landscape and for thoughts on how to expand, or to limit, the supplies you own or bring.

Here’s a link to Pepperwood’s site for more information and registration form: https://www.pepperwoodpreserve.org/?event=in-person-workshop-painting-pepperwoods-landscapes&event_date=2021-05-01

It would be a pleasure to share this experience with you. 
Please forward to interested friends.

Warmest greetings, 
Marsha

Landscape Painting at Pepperwood Preserve. May 15

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.

STEM to STEAM

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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?

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 1^st, 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 15^th, 2016. Click here to learn more about this class.

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

Tags

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

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

Tags

.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

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

Coast And Countryside: Plein Air Landscapes of Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin

Tags

art, California, coast, colorist, conversations, countryside, Dutton-Goldfield Winery, gallery, landscapes, life, love, Marin, Marsha Connell, Mendocino, nature, oils, paintings, Pepperwood Preserve, Sebastopol, Sonoma county, tasting room, Valentines, watercolor

Wildflower Hill at Pepperwood, oil, 30×30″

Dutton-Goldfield Winery invites you    
To an Artist Reception for Marsha Connell
Coast And Countryside: Plein Air Landscapes of Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin
Sunday January 24, 2016. 1:00-3:00PM

Exhibit open daily 10am to 4:30pm, January 19 to March 15.

Dutton-Goldfield Winery
3100 Gravenstein Highway North (Map)
Corner of Hwy 116 and Graton Road
Sebastopol CA 95472
http://www.duttongoldfield.com/

Marsha Connell is a Northern California artist known for expressive colorist paintings in oil, watercolor, and pastel. We are excited to host Marsha’s show in our spacious tasting room, and invite you to a wine and cheese reception so you can meet and talk art with her in style.
RSVP melody@duttongoldfield.com

* * Present this invitation at the tasting bar during the artist’s reception for a complimentary taste of two of our small-lot single-vineyard wines.

Reds & Romance Weekend    
Marsha will be with us in the tasting room on February 14 from 12-4 pm,  showing both large and small works (perhaps painting Valentines?) and available for conversations about art, life, and love.

Fog Bank, pastel, 12×16″

MARSHA CONNELL’S ART EVENTS Late 2015-2016

Tags

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

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

 

Gallery Seven – Pastel Landscape and Still Life

Tags

California, colorist, drawing, interior landscape, landscapes, mark making, Marsha Connell, Mendocino Art Center, nature, painterly, Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma county, still life, tabletop, upstate New York

Just published, a gallery of pastels, and their stories. Enjoy!

Gallery Seven – Pastel Landscape and Still Life.

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

Tags

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

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

Pepperwood Preserve: Paintings by Marsha Connell, Mahoney Library Gallery January 15 – March 26, 2015

Tags

abstract sensibility, art, documenting, inquiry, interpretation, lecture, observation, oils, Pepperwood Preserve, Santa Rosa Junior College, science, sketching, synergy, tabletop, view, watercolor

This plein air oil painting, Dissolve–Three Tree Hill, is on loan from Santa Rosa Junior College’s Doyle Collection for the exhibit Pepperwood Preserve: Paintings by Marsha Connell. At the exhibit, where original paintings and sketchbooks are displayed, you can also see a slide show of drawings, paintings and views of the preserve, as well as artists, scientists and students at work at Pepperwood. You’re invited to a lecture and reception for the exhibit Monday February 2, noon to 1pm. The exhibit will be up for two months.

Click Here for the college’s link to the Mahoney Library Gallery exhibit and to Art Talk video interviews from the Doyle Collection, (a wonderful project that I’m proud to be included in!) where I share my Pepperwood sketchbook and talk about my painting and drawing process and more.

Pepperwood Preserve: Paintings by Marsha Connell
Mahoney Library Gallery
January 15 – March 26, 2015

Santa Rosa Junior College Petaluma Campus,
Building 700, 680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma, CA 94854

LECTURE AND RECEPTION
Art and Science: Views of Pepperwood Preserve
Marsha Connell, artist and Shawn Brumbaugh, biologist
Mahoney Library Reading Room
Monday February 2, Noon -1 p.m.

Come with all your senses tuned in for a lecture and visual tour of Pepperwood’s landscape in a way that explores the synergy of art and science. Shawn Brumbaugh, SRJC biology instructor and co-developer of the Natural History of Pepperwood course series, joins Marsha Connell, artist and SRJC Art Instructor, on a painting and drawing journey of observation and interpretation through the Preserve. They will also discuss the historical importance of sketching in documenting scientific inquiry. After the talk, enjoy a tour of Marsha Connell’s original Pepperwood sketchbooks and paintings on exhibit in the Mahoney Library Gallery.

Lecture funded by SRJC’s Arts & Lectures Committee

This exhibit is free to the public. A $4.00 parking permit is required in campus lots. Petaluma Campus Map

Thank yous to Karen Peterson, Sami Lange, David Rau, Jo Ann Gaglione, Scott Lipanovich, Steve Barnhart, Alicia Virtue, Loretta Esparza, Greg Damron, Michael Gillogy, Ben Benson, Lisa Micheli, the Pepperwood Foundation, and all my students!

Do you know another more familiar name for a Pepperwood tree? Send me your thoughts!

You can register now for my next Painting Workshop at Pepperwood Preserve—
Spring Retreat: Landscape Painting En Plein Air, Expressing the Spirit of Place

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