Dorothy Connelly

Dorothy Connelly's picture

Website

http://www.dconnelly.com

Social

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Email

(415) 269-2109

[email protected]

Neighborhood: Excelsior
Group Affiliation: Francisco Studios
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Postcards from the Pandemic: 100 Views of the Golden Gate Bridge began on June 1, 2020. These Postcards are not the tourist kind. These are Views you can see every day at all times of the year and in all weather conditions. Battered by wind and fog, the Bridge changes color all day long, all year long. All things considered, painted & repainted steel would be nothing without the San Francisco Bay below, the blue skies above and northern California's very special light.

A funny thing happened to me on the way to Covid’s abyss. After 15 plus years of painting faces in a studio, I was suddenly working from home in one tenth the space. Mysteriously, I couldn’t paint faces anymore. Views was inspired by a wise Marin artist who said, “if you become enchanted by a subject, do 100 & find out what it really means to you.” As days became weeks and then months, Covid’s confinement might have ended a painting career, but the Bridge came to my rescue.

On June 1st, I began painting one 5 by 7 inch linen panel each and every day. Thirty in June, thirty in September and thirty in November; 10 in December. No matter what was going on in the outside world, I started a new one even if the previous day was not finished. Being a portrait painter and a New York City girl, I struggled to “speak landscape.” Online I found some great videos for subtle greens, dramatic clouds, and dynamic seascapes. Since 2020, distractions have dominated my life from political turmoil to a studio flood & relocation. Breaking Good News: Twenty-five got finished and 75 are still in progress. All 100 will be on view at this year's Fall Open Studios at my new space, Francisco Studios, in the Excelsior neighborhood.