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Mary Connelly

Watercolor, Asian brush painting, acrylic, gouache, watermedia, mixed media, collage, printmaking, ink and colors on rice paper online gallery link
 

Artist Statement

It wasn't until I became involved in the learning process of creating art that I became aware of the awesome responsibility of trying to define just what is "Art." Art is everywhere and nowhere, something and nothing, beautiful and ugly, hilarious and serious, an expression of the inner mind and being, soul, if you will, of the person doing the creating. Art moves, changes, re-creates itself with each generation and yet it fills our lives as nothing else can. The plastic forms created by artists speak for them to us and lift the consciousness, awareness, and, many times, the spirits, of those who experience the art. A person can take refuge from the cares of everyday living just by seeing and experiencing the many forms of art.

I find Chinese brushpainting to be such a refuge. While I paint and collage landscapes, figures, and flowers in the Western or abstract style, I find harmony and serenity when changing into the brushpainting mode. The Oriental love of nature in all its varied forms, and the brush, ink, stone, and paper, products themselves of the earth, help the artist to express the beauty of flowers, people, and landscapes in an orderly, disciplined, and harmonious way. For almost nineteen years I have studied the Chinese masters of brushpainting, as well as the Japanese masters, and I find that I have barely scratched the surface of a beautiful and compelling art form.

Styles: Abstract, landscape, still life, representational, florals

Memberships: San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild, Clairemont Art Guild, American Artists of Chinese Brush Painting, Associated Senior Artists

Classes: Years of study with Ning Yeh, Ph.D., Orange County; Marie Wordell, San Diego; Gerald Brommer, National Watercolor Society; Grace Chow, San Diego

Awards & Exhibits: Best of Show, Festival of Art, St. Mark's United Methodist Church; art in permanent collection of San Diego Children's Hospital and also at San Diego Hospice