mixed media on canvas
36 x 46″
Karlene explores memories and perceptions of the natural world through her colorful, gestural paintings. She uses shapes and lines to mimic organic forms found in nature, playing with positive and negative space and layers of paint to build up a sense of atmosphere on a flat plane. Her work is also fueled by bursts of color. While not true to life, her palette creates a conversation between cool and warm tones and serves to energize her compositions.
“McConnell uses her experiences of the real world to recreate the joy, excitement and even the magic of a walk in the woods. When she is “in the zone” she is exploring the interaction of vibrant colors or making simple marks that mimic nature and are pleasing to look at. Harking back to Matisse, we hear a similar theme: Composition is the art of arranging in a decorative manner the diverse elements at the painter’s command to express his feelings. This is about as close to a manifesto that we can imagine for the wild beasts (Les Fauves never wrote one) and it applies to McConnell as well. This kind of painter makes no effort to desaturate or blend but allows pure color, even discordant ones, to ring out at a maximum intensity.” – Dr. James Murphy – original Art Director Atlantic Center for the Arts & former Art Professor Florida State University.
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