The soaring beauty of the Gloss Mountains, the serenity of horses watering in a valley stream, the delicate details of a single flower bloom – these and more are depicted in the oil paintings of Connie Rish. A sampling of her work is on display during March at the Graceful Arts Gallery and Studio in downtown Alva.
During the First Friday Art Walk, Rish described her immersion in art as a "second life career."
"I went back to school in my early 40s and studied the classical ways of art at the Conservatory for Classical Art." She then did a four-year Atelier, which she describes as a very intensive independent study. Rish "went public" with her art just last fall.
She doesn't have a permanent gallery of her own. Rish says she likes to "go all over the state and out of the state so I can get my art in front of as many people as I can."
"It's classical, traditional," said Rish in describing her paintings. "I'm a naturalist. I like to pretty much depict things as you see them, as they are. But at the same time I help to enhance them, to help people see what they might miss sometimes when they're looking and enjoying things."
Rish is married with three adult children, two in Oklahoma and one in Florida. She was born in Oklahoma and grew up in the state. She spent many years working in the printing and reproduction field before focusing on her life-long love of art.
If the Graceful Arts exhibit makes you wish for more, you can find Rish's art online at connie-rish-pixels.com or through the websites of Fine Art America or Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. Look for Connie's Cottage Studio on Facebook. Her email is connierish61@gmail.com.
The Graceful Arts Gallery is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rish said, "I was very impressed with this facility. It's wide open, it's spacious, she teaches here. That's always a good thing to promote the arts as much as we can. And it's a beautiful space, it really is."
Displays this month at Graceful Arts include "Glass from the Past" with collections of Larry Thorne and Linda Tutwiler. In addition to Rish, other featured artists are Margaret Aycock and Joey Fiscillo with china painting by Janet Wanger.
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