Artist Statement:
In 1990, a friend and DeBlois Gallery (Newport, RI) partner recommended
I try printmaking; I have been hooked on this medium ever since. I have
become a printmaker to the core. The smell of the studio inks and the
sensuous touch of wiping an etched plate get my creative juices running.
The etching process is tedious to some, but I love the technical skill
combined with the freedom of artistic expression. After working very tightly
on an etching plate for weeks, I may shift to the freedom of monotypes
or monoprints which enables me to work similarly in my beginnings of oils
and watercolor.
For many years my work has been very realistic, almost photographic. My
images are things people can empathize with in their daily lives; the
gatepost, the quiet little garden places or the familiar doorway or front
porch of a Victorian house. It draws the viewer to wonder what lies beyond.
This is how I work mostly when etching.
On the other hand, the monotype process has lent itself to my more abstract work and interest in color and shapes, although I may work very realistic too. My monotype work explores the nuances of overprinting and may run through the press as many as 30 times in order to achieve the rich colors I desire. By using different shapes and color, I am able to create space, making things appear to recede or come forward. When everything works right, a visual world of depth and mystery occurs. This has led me to use and seek different Intaglio techniques to my zinc or copper plates, in abstract ways, never tried by me until recently. The newest works have become textural in nature as well.
So my artwork has two completely different styles and leaves some people
to wonder if the same person did both. That’s why I’m called
“Sybil” sometimes.
Biography:
Marian O'Connell remembers in Minneapolis grade school the last class Friday afternoon was art, her favorite time but she never took any art classes until her last semester at the University of Colorado where she earned a degree in Business Administration. The two art classes fit into her schedule, enabling her to graduate before joining her Air Force husband, Bill, in the Philippines, but the courses blew her grade point average and were a real turnoff for her artwise. Returning stateside, a neighbor in Nebraska got her interested in taking an oil painting class for fun and from that point creating art became her passion. Starting in oils, then watercolors it was friend Carol FitzSimonds, who recommended trying printmaking, her primary medium ever since.
Marian has taught classes and juried shows. She exhibits in regional
and national competitions annually. Her highest award was the Anna Hyatt
Huntington Bronze Medal of Honor in Printmaking, the second highest award
in printmaking at the annual Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club exhibit.
Twice she has had work accepted in the Boston Printmaker’s biannual
shows. She has been awarded memberships in the Copley Society in Boston,
and the National Association of Women Artists and the Catharine Lorillard
Wolfe Art Club, both in New York, as well as several other organizations.
Currently she is corresponding secretary for the Wickford Art Association,
RI.
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