Meet Peg Connery-Boyd | Sharing the Light through Artwork

We had the good fortune of connecting with Peg Connery-Boyd and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Peg, what matters most to you?
Not to get too heavy here, but the most important value to me is keeping the spirituality and soul in my artwork. I started this art journey after a serious illness over 20 years ago and art was something I did to rekindle my spirit and heal. I began taking art classes and got really hooked and it has been such a blessing to have art in my life on so many levels. Now that I am actually working at the business side of art, marketing and selling my work, I still try to keep the sense of joy and light in the forefront. That is my goal, to share this light with others.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am an oil painter and I share the light that i find in the world through my work. I love to paint beautiful landscapes, seascapes and florals, but I also paint an occasional portrait now and then. My work tends to be bright and energetic. I use a lot of thick paint and you can see my wild brushstrokes.

I think of my work as kind of a bridge between realism and abstraction. I like to use something specific that inspires me, a beautiful sunset for example, to jump off, but I never know where I am going to land.

I used to paint with a coat on in my cold attic, then over my garage, and wherever I could find a corner with three little boys running around. I started out taking classes in classical figure, portrait and still life drawing, very realistic stuff, and I learned so much from that experience about light and color and the craft of using oil paint. Then, a few years ago, my husband got a couple of job opportunities first in Arizona and then in Boulder, so we moved west and I found this beautiful light out here and these magnificent landscapes everywhere and I got inspired to get bigger, get bolder with color and free up my style. I am having a blast and am so happy! One of the things I love most about painting is that I am constantly learning and it’s kind of a never ending journey.

Oh gosh it has not been easy to get here to a place where I have a successful little art business. I had to break out of my shell and expose my work to the world which was so scary, and I’ve had lots of challenges along the way. I remember the first art show that I did with an art group in New London, CT and I felt sick to my stomach and just kind of hid in a corner. Also, making the decision to “go for it” as a professional artist, and to let go of other revenue producing work was very risky and terrifying to be honest. I made an investment and launched my website about two years ago, and it’s been kind of exciting to reach collectors and make new friends outside of my own neighborhood, especially during the pandemic. I welcome visitors to check out my website https://www.conneryboydgallery.com and drop me a note to let me know what you think or follow my work on instagram at @pegconneryboydart.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Art Shows! (I am exhibiting with other artists from Longmont Art Guild at the Great Frame Up in Longmont. February 11-March 31, 430 Main St. Longmont
Denver Art Museum
Walk along Boulder Creek
Pearl St. Mall
Chataqua Park
Lyons
Shanahan Ridge

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh gosh I could shout out all day because I have so many people that have helped me over the last 20 years.

First, to my first drawing and oil painting teacher, Christopher Zhang in East Lyme, CT, who I studied with for about 10 years part-time back when my kids were growing up, before moving out west. I think about him and quote him all the time. I was honored to have such an amazing master painter to guide me. The biggest thing that I learned from him is that to get better at oil painting, you have to really work hard at it, and make art a daily practice. He once told me that you have to have paintings piled up to the ceiling before you really get to be any good.

I am also very grateful to all of the art associations are art groups that have helped to push my little art career along over the years. I have found the support and opportunities given in local art groups to be a real gift in my life. Shoutout to Old Lyme Art Association , Mystic Art Association, New London Art Students League, Scottsdale Artist League and most recently to Longmont Artists Guild and North Boulder Art District, who continue to provide support to artists in their communities.

Lastly, shoutout to my husband Jim and my three sons who have supported me in my artwork business despite all the challenges of living with an artist, including paint on the light switches, visitors coming to my studio unexpectedly, urgent framing requests and UPS drop offs and lots and lots of art shows.

Website: www.conneryboydgallery.com

Instagram: pegconneryboydart

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peg-connery-boyd-04b60110/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conneryboydart