Mim’s Missives

Mim McConnell’s use of a variety of subject matters in her work is a reflection of her life. Born in 1953 in Princeton, NJ and raised in various states on the East Coast, she spent her summers in Maine until her early 20s when she married and migrated South and then West, eventually ending up in Southeast Alaska, the Last Frontier’s panhandle. Since 1975 she has been, among other things, a frontier woman, receptionist for state legislators, Tupperware dealer, commercial fisher, school board member, subsistence gatherer, business advisor, art teacher, fisheries technician, graphic and web designer, artist and photographer, mother and grandmother.

Painting and photography were introduced into Mim’s world before the age of 9. Her first camera was a Brownie Starlight that worked faithfully for many years before it was accidentally dropped into the Atlantic Ocean. Her forays into painting were encouraged by her parents when she was a pre-teen; one summer she was the youngest participant in an en plein air watercolor workshop. Her formal training included numerous art classes, including a year-long independent study, at Bradford College, Haverhill, MA, many workshops over the years, two photography classes, and lots of reading and studying other people’s work.

Woven throughout her artwork and photography is her love of the natural world, represented in a realistic style. Subjects are often a land or seascape, sometimes showing how humans fit within it. Boats and reflections are frequent favorite subjects, this stemming from time spent on the water in both Maine and Alaska. Mim’s powerful compositions and the ability to capture the essence of wilderness places are frequently commented on by her many admirers.

Watercolor painting and photography continue to be an important part of Mim’s life. She is a watercolor workshop presenter, and has had her work displayed in the Alaska Watercolor Society art show (Cotton Dreams). Her work has been sold as popular notecards of Alaska land and seascapes, and Franz Island was selected to hang in a statewide juried photography exhibition in 2002. Her paintings and photography can be found in many private collections throughout the United States, and is represented by Fishermen’s Eye Gallery in Sitka, Alaska and www.artexchange.com. Prints can also be purchased through her website, www.mimsgallery.com.

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