karen mcconnell - artist
curriculum vitae
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about the artist
Canadian artist Karen McConnell draws inspiration from many influences. She has never sought to fit a particular
niche, preferring to be led by her own rather capricious Muse. Her earliest works were in watercolour and coloured pencil and she later made a transition to creating detailed and colourful renderings of mythical creatures who inhabited a parallel universe. Self-taught, she had not expected such an immediate response to the imaginings which found their way from her mind to the paper and ultimately to the gallery walls. It was then that the first realization came of the profound effect of the visual in the hearts and minds of others. |
While continuing to develop her work, she began creating fine art miniatures and these tiny works found their way around the world, earning awards in various regional and international competitions in several countries including the U.S., France, Israel and Australia.
Her largest, most ambitious and gratifying project was accomplished with the completion of an original work entitled ‘TreeHouse’. A limited number of reproductions were created with proceeds assigned to International Breast Cancer Research.
Music has been an influence for much of her life and in recent years classical opera and instrumental music have become almost constant companions in her studio. Perhaps as a matter of cause and effect her artistic nature began a focus on abstraction. It came unexpectedly and quickly became an obsession. “I realized these songs without words recognizable to me, could often touch my soul in greater ways than more explicit lyrics. There was a freedom to experience beyond the boundaries of a defined meaning. Abstraction in art affects me in much the same way and very much involves being interpreted in many different ways by different people”.
Seeking out the influences and lives of the modern artists, particularly those of the first half of the twentieth century, continues as she attempts to work and grow in this genre. “I have always felt that a work of art finds its completion only when it is viewed and resonates with another.”
Her largest, most ambitious and gratifying project was accomplished with the completion of an original work entitled ‘TreeHouse’. A limited number of reproductions were created with proceeds assigned to International Breast Cancer Research.
Music has been an influence for much of her life and in recent years classical opera and instrumental music have become almost constant companions in her studio. Perhaps as a matter of cause and effect her artistic nature began a focus on abstraction. It came unexpectedly and quickly became an obsession. “I realized these songs without words recognizable to me, could often touch my soul in greater ways than more explicit lyrics. There was a freedom to experience beyond the boundaries of a defined meaning. Abstraction in art affects me in much the same way and very much involves being interpreted in many different ways by different people”.
Seeking out the influences and lives of the modern artists, particularly those of the first half of the twentieth century, continues as she attempts to work and grow in this genre. “I have always felt that a work of art finds its completion only when it is viewed and resonates with another.”
