Robert Connell

Available Works

Robert Connell's recent works depict the white skies of the Northwest region and the bold natural or man made architectural silhouettes against it. Connell travels extensively around the Pacific Northwest, drawing mountains, forests, lakes and ponds; and most recently has been spending more time locally studying the Seattle skyline and the city’s residential and industrial neighborhoods. For the works on paper, Connell begins working on site, drawing with sumi ink describing the composition with negative and positive spaces. Later, in his studio using a brayer he rolls on gouache to create thick textured planes of color.

Connell’s approach to his paintings on canvas is similar to that of his work on paper. He paints a white acrylic background, followed by a black silhouette to create the structure of the composition. He then applies acrylic with a brayer to achieve similar colors and textures to those of his work on paper. Using this unique approach to painting on paper and canvas, Connell records the sense of place found in the natural and urban landscapes of the Northwest not in a photographic way, but through an interpretation influenced by medium, memory, and emotion.

• Recent Exhibitions: Sense of Place, August 2009; Transitions, September 2007; Recent Paintings on Paper, June 2006; Sunlight and Shadows: Northwest Landscape, May 2004