Art Exhibit: Water Songs

RECEPTION: SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2023: 3-5 PM: Join Marsha Connell and Carmen Sheldon to celebrate the exhibits and discuss the art and its inspirations. Connell will do a brief poetry reading at 4PM. Refreshments will be served. Sonoma County artist, Marsha Connell, presents Water Songs, paintings from observation and memory. In watercolor or oil, Connell taps into water’s many forms, from seep springs to cascades, to take us on its iconic journey: tumbling over waterfalls, swooshing like clouds, weaving over rocks. Tree bark patterns become rivers and streams -music on the pages of Connell’s sketchbook. Connell paints in plein air/alla prima (outdoors/wet-in-wet): flowing watercolor becomes waterfalls, lakes, clouds; broad strokes of oil paint morph into rivers. These works draw the viewer closer to nature with their rhythm and flow and cool color palette. “I would like my art to be solace and joy, to touch the heart and heal the soul – oases for the spirit in this world of planetary crises,” said Connell. Marsha Connell’s life as an artist/teacher and artist-in-residence enables her to commit to both personal creative work and to the well-being and nourishing of community and students. With a longtime base in Santa Rosa Junior College’s Art Department, she also taught at Sonoma State University, California Arts Project, K-12 public and private schools. She shared volunteer leadership at Art Trails and other nonprofits and exhibited at numerous galleries and venues across the country and internationally. She received artist-in-residence grants from the Pepperwood Foundation and the California Arts Council.