Marilyn Conner

Watercolor painting all started for me with a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. At the time, the Disney Institute had just opened and I signed up for a two hour watercolor class among other classes. Since I was a science major at the university and college-prep in high school, I never had the opportunity to take art classes. I had always thought that if I had known how to use the materials, I could probably paint.

Once I returned home to Michigan, I found an art instructor through a friend. Sister Kinue Matsuzaki SSHJ, a Japanese Catholic nun, taught watercolor painting in a suburb across town from where I lived. ‘Sister Matsu’ usually had floral or weedy material for us to paint. I studied the various colors and hues of nature which proved fascinating to me under Sister Matsu’s tutelage for eight years.

After moving to Arizona in late 2003, I continued to expand my artistic skills into other forms of medium studying under Jim Ellis, JoAnn Mathews and the Milan Art Institute in Queen Creek. Today, I have experience in not only watercolor, but also collage, Scratchbord, pastel, acrylic, mixed media, and oil. I have also moved away from mainly florals to landscapes, portraits, and still life. The brightness of color here in the desert is incredible. I feel so fortunate to be living here and painting what I see so vividly.

I am currently a member of the Desert Artists’ Club and the Oakwood Artists’ League here in Sun Lakes, AZ, having served on the executive boards of each. In summary, for me there is nothing quite as special as creating what appears to be three dimensional on paper or canvas of someone or something you love.