About Mary Ellen Connelly

Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, I relished every chance to go to the Columbus Zoo, and to visit a sister and an aunt who had a variety of farm animals. Drawing horses dominated my childhood interest in art. Art dominated my interest in school. After majoring in Art Education at Ohio State University, I moved to Upstate New York, taught art in public schools, took art classes, and completed a PhD in Art Education at The Pennsylvania State University.

My love of nature and outdoor adventures resulted in my living in the country with wildlife literally at my doorstep. The beauty of North American wildlife, especially mammals and birds, in natural habitat inspires me to create original oil paintings. Hiking, canoeing, camping, hunting, and fishing enrich the lifestyle my husband and I desire. We travel extensively throughout North America, watching, photographing, sketching, and painting wildlife.

In nature is where I want to be – as often as possible. When an animal appears I am grateful, entranced, totally focused on it – my spirit soars! This is what I desire to do – to give you, my viewer, the very special sense of connectedness in the presence of the animals, to take you to a place I have been, to share the emotions I experienced. My main objective as a painter is to capture the essence of the animal, the magic of a moment in time – and the emotion within. It is my sincere hope that you will find pleasure in my paintings.