Artist Biography

Anita Connelly - Watercolors

Art has always been an important part of Anita's life. As a child, the greatest gift she might receive was a coloring book and a new box of crayons. She was fortunate to encounter some fine, dedicated art instructors during her formative school years. Although basically self-taught, she continues her education through workshops, publications, and instructional videos.

As so often happens, time and our lives seem to fly by, and it wasn't until after she married, raised three children, and spent many years in the legal profession, that Anita made a radical change in her life. Several years ago, she opened her studio - Anita's Atelier - and embarked on her long dreamed of career as a full-time, professional artist.

Anita now resides in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina and exhibits and sells her artwork throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, the British Isles and Africa.

Anita also has traveled throughout Europe, including Germany, France, Switzerland and The Netherlands, as well as England, Ireland, Hawaii and Central America, and has enjoyed painting many landscapes and local flora and fauna.

Her love of nature and the outdoors is obvious. She professes a favorite subject - wildlife and waterfowl. Shorebirds, pheasants, mallards, geese, wild turkeys, cranes, egrets and herons are all so realistically rendered that individual feathers challenge your touch.

Anita's botanicals and flowers are as true to life as the animals. Her stems and leaves receive the same artistry as do the blossoms, reflecting the consistent attention to the whole painting, which makes her work so strong.

Anita is a member of the North Carolina Watercolor Society, Toe River Arts and Crafts Council, Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, and numerous wildlife conservation and protection societies. She has received many awards including Best of Show, First Place, Second Place and merit.