ABOUT THE ARTIST
Connie Connally
Education
MFA - Southern Methodist University 2004
BFA - Wichita State University (Magna Cum Laude) 1975
Oklahoma University 1970-73
Connie Connally paints stunning canvases of complex elegance, with imagery that merges harmoniously and nearly completely both representational reference and powerful abstraction. Connally’s poetic colorscapes, with their expressive brushwork, sweeping gestural marks and animated cadence, reflect the artist’s passion for distilling the essence of her observations of nature and situate her work as the vital interplay between memory and imagination. Her palette of organic color and calligraphic brushstroke combine to serve as imprint of the artist’s profound love of being in nature and the desire that her painting reflect both her exterior and interior experience of it.
Citing Joan Mitchell as an important influence on her work, Connally employs exuberant, impassioned colors laid on her canvases in a pictorial strategy that teeters between the action painting of her abstract expressionist forebears and a more refined personal style that modulates the strokes and dabs that comprise her surfaces. Her layers of brushstroke read less as agitated ruptures and more like intuitive, sensual experiences rendered as prismatic atmospheres of color and tone. Rich, multi-layered surfaces of color morph, coalesce and scatter in quietly energetic rhythms that evoke the experience of being surrounded by nature.
Connally’s works have been exhibited extensively across the United States and included in museum and private collections internationally including The Grace Museum, Longview Museum of Fine Art, The Art Museum of South Texas, Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, Wildling Museum of Art & Nature, and Southern Methodist University.
Ken Marvel, co-owner LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM writes of Connally
Gouache on Canson Board
9 x 6 in
The Santa Fe woods are stunning in the spring; my favorite time of year there and almost anywhere. The trees turn pink when the morning sun starts the day revealing the "understory" or plant life on the forest floor. That is the essence of this gouache on Canson board drawing.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Canson Board
4 x 8 in
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
This gouache is inspired by the sunflower volunteers growing along the roadsides near my Santa Barbara home. They start so tall and upright, but as the spring days go by, they start to wither. I love the twisting, serpentine shapes they create as they fade.
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Canson Board
3 x 6 in
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Sunflowers make a big presentation on the roadsides near my home...a parade of sorts flashing their big golden faces to the passersby.
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Canson Board
9 x 12 in
This is the view from my studio. I get to live in a pretty place and it is easy to stay inspired.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Canson Board
6 x 9 in
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Passing Through has multi-layered implications for me...not only is the stream passing through the landscape, so is the traveler, the time of year (spring), and the artist's hand with her mark-making and cool blue palette.
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Canson Board
6 x 9 in
Along the stream on my Santa Fe hike in the upper mountains, the Conehead Sunflowers flash their cadmium yellow heads. The streams run crystal clear. The title's "Blue Bosque" implies the blue stream in the wild wood and "Understory" is the foliage that grows up during the spring when the sunlight hits the forest floor and the trees are still without their leaves.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Canson Board
12 x 9 in
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
A spring hike in the hills above Santa Fe inspired this little gouache painting. The morning light played on the chaos of shapes that defined the hiking trail.
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Canson Board
6 x 9 in
"Spring Wood and Understory" is one of my favorite drawings in my studio this year. It is a memory of a spring hike in the woods around Santa Fe that was so beautiful. The sunlight streamed through the tangle of trees creating a pink light on the forest floor where the Conehead Sunflowers played along the trails. It was magical. That is what I hope you feel when your eye gets drawn into the playful marks and cool color palette on my drawings' surface.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on paper
10 x 10 in
The morning sun created the pink hues on the waters of Monets' Giverny garden. The deep purple iris on the water’s edge inspired the abstract shapes that dance across the surface of this little gouache painting. I have traveled to Giverny many times and at every season of the year. It is truly one of my favorite places on earth.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Canson Board
8 x 5.75 in
The yarrow grows wild in the CA fields in the spring. The wildflower is tall and imposing. That is what I tried to depict in this gouache.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Arches Board
7 x 13 in
Framed: 14.5 x 20.25 in
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
This gouache is inspired by the shapes that I find along the shorelines...waves and the big bird of paradise that looms large over the beaches.
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Yupo
5 x 15.5 in
Framed: 12.25 x 22.75 in
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
The Poodle Dog Bush is called a fire chaser because you see them in fields where a forest fire has passed through...something beautiful after something so fierce as a wildfire. That is what I wanted to convey with these bright, bold colors moving across the drawing surface.
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Arches Board
7.25 x 7 in
Framed: 14.25 x 14 in
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
"Blue Beach House" hung in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art in the exhibition, "Rose Compass: Paintings of Santa Barbara's Watershed, January 10 - June 22, 2019. It depicts a familiar coastal landmark on Hendry's Beach, a famous beach in Santa Barbara.
Gouache on Arches Board
7 x 13 in
Framed: 14.5 x 20.25 in
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
"Palms and Waves" hung in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art in the exhibition, "Rose Compass: Paintings of Santa Barbara's Watershed, January 10 - June 22, 2019.
“It is inspired by the shapes along our shorelines...waves and palms.”
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Crescent
7 x 5 in
Camellia plants in my garden put on a dazzling display every spring. I took a cutting and brought them inside and set it next to a small bronze sculpture I created as an homage to Alice Neel, the famous portrait painter (1900- 1984)...I felt like the flowers were a gift to her.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Crescent
7 x 5 in
This beautiful bronze sculpture by my friend, Deborah Ballard, a Texas artist, is a prized piece in my art collection. It just felt right to honor it with a portrait. I set a freshly cut camellia from my garden next to the sculpture to create this still life drawing.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Crescent
7 x 5 in
This beautiful bronze sculpture by my friend, Deborah Ballard, a Texas artist, is a prized piece in my art collection. It just felt right to honor it with a portrait. I set a freshly cut camellia from my garden next to the sculpture to create this still life drawing.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Arches Board
4 x 5.5 in
Framed: 11 x 12 x 1 in
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Along the shorelines of Southern California are gorgeous Coral Trees. They get their names from the coral shapes of their blossoms which come after most of the green leaves have fallen from the tree. It is a unique sight.
-Connie Connally
gouache on paper
4.5 x 4.5 in
“As you can see, this little gouache is coming right out of my sketchbook. The gouache drawing was painted "en plein air" beside Monet's water lily garden in Giverny. You can feel Monet's presence when you are there. This little gouache is a fond memory of that occasion.”
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Arches Board
2.25 x 8.5 in
The perfect amount of rain and sunshine creates amazing "Super Blooms" along our West Coast meadows. These Desert Candle wildflowers can be found on the Carrizo Plains.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Canson Board
8.5 x 6.5 in
The hardy perennial vines of the wild morning-glory are beautiful wildflowers often seen on our hikes in Southern California. Some Californians even plant them in their yards. They are bold and pretty, but toxic if ingested.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Arches Board
7.25 x 7 in
Framed: 14.75 x 14.25 x 1 in
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Lemon trees and lemon groves are abundant in the fields around my Santa Barbara home. I love the plump shapes and bright lemon yellow colors that shine through the crisp green leaves on a cool coastal morning. I have Meyer lemon trees in my own yard that I love to cook with year round. Lemons are my favorite fruit to eat, to look at, to smell...they make me happy.
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Arches Board
10.5 x 8.5 in
Framed: 17.5 x 15.5 in
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
"Lotus Musing Overturned" hung in the Westmont RidleyTree Museum of Art in the exhibition, "Rose Compass: Paintings of Santa Barbara's Watershed, January 10 - June 22, 2019. The gouache depicts the fanciful lotus flowers reflections.
Gouache on Arches Board
5 x 5.25 in
Lupine cover the meadows and mountainsides across the country announcing that spring has arrived. I tried to depict the playfulness of their shapes and the joy they bring when people see them.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Canson Board
5.75 x 8 in
I love the mystery emanating from this little painting. The wild morning glories twist and wrap their serpentining vines around everything in their path...wildly beautiful.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Arches Board
12.5 x 8.5 in
Framed Size: 19.5 x 15.5 in
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
"Musing Overturned" hung in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art in the exhibition, "Rose Compass: Paintings of Santa Barbara's Watershed, January 10 - June 22, 2019. The gouache depicts the fanciful lotus flowers reflections.
Gouache on Arches Board
7.25 x 7 in
Framed: 14.25 x 14 in
"Orange Tumble" hung in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art in the exhibition, "Rose Compass: Paintings of Santa Barbara's Watershed, January 10 - June 22, 2019. The gouache depicts the fanciful lotus flowers reflections.
It hangs in my studio now because I still enjoy looking at it every day.
-Connie Connally
Gouache on Arches Board
7.25 x 7 in
The "Palm" stands right outside my studio door. She is very majestic, but changes her mood with every weather change.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on paper
4.5 x 5 in
From my sketchbook...the little gouache was drawn "en plein air" at Monet's beautiful water lily garden in Giverny.
-Connie Connally
Custom framing available for an additional $100.00.
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
Approximately 2 weeks delivery time.
Gouache on Arches Board
9 x 11 in
Includes
German Silver metal frame
3” border of 8-ply matting
UV Plexi
The meadows in southern California turn golden with the onset of spring. The color and the wind envelop you when you walk among the brilliant hued petals.
-Connie Connally