BEAUTIFUL UNDERAPPRECIATED CREATURES
ROBERT S. CONNETT
Microscopic organisms loom large, while we can’t get enough of other creatures that most people would prefer to not see in Robert S. Connett’s incredible paintings.
Connett’s fascination with the unseen and underappreciated worlds biology, has been his inspiration since he was a child. Then, at a tender age, Connett collected everything from spiders to snakes. He loved to unearth creepy-crawlies from underneath rocks and to dive into slimies from the sea. Eventually, he taught himself to draw and paint them.
Working with meticulous attention to detail, Connett fuses biological accuracy with fantasy to create dense compositions that are so magnificent, they dare anyone who might normally be squeamish about his subject matter.
The images are lush, full of color and texture, teaming with complex micro and macro lifeforms — both flora and fauna, both from land and sea, with creatures ranging from ciliates, to crustaceans, to reptiles and amphibians, to insects. He is especially drawn to aquatic creatures and has been since beloved fishing trips as a child with his father.
Connett recalls “Huge green purple kelp fish with bulging eyes and fins that mimicked the kelp they lived in, mottled with countless hues of blues, greens, violets and blacks. They were covered with tiny slithering worms and tiny jittering crustaceans. Amazing complex translucent things that I would stare at with wide eyed wonder.
There were Leopard Sharks with beautiful black spots. There were Fish that looked like futuristic cylindrical space ships, Crabs, many jellyfish, huge stingrays and White sharks as big as our boat! (Very scary!) and so many more! The sea was my teacher.”
Each rendering is based on studies from Connett’s own collection of specimens and books of scientific illustrations.
Connett’s favorite painting other than his own is Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights.” “This is the most influential piece of art in my life. When I was about 12 years old I found a book on Bosch. It was a turning point in my life. I became obsessed with the imagery of the painting, and really, I still am. I look at it every day. Close-ups of the paintings are spread across my 3 monitor set-up in my studio.” It serves as constant inspiration -- he looks at it daily.
A former insurance broker, Connett retired at age 47, shortly after his home was destroyed by a fire in 1995. He began a full-time art career in 2004, at the age of 53.
While he often dwells in microscopic worlds, Connett’s paintings are often more then 4’ x 5’ in size.
Connett currently lives in Los Angeles. Although in an urban setting, his home is surrounded by gardens and tree covered land. “It’s almost like a private forest,” he says. “We constantly see animals. We have had litters of coyote pups play on our front lawn. The gardens are filled with birds and their music. Butterflies are drawn to the flowers and water, as are dragonflies and needle flies. When the wind is up the air can appear snow filled with the falling detritus of leaves, seeds, pollens and flying insects.”
With a personal collection of 250 exotic insects and butterflies adorning his home walls, Connett stays immersed.
Check out more of Connett’s works, also available as prints.
Read more about Beautiful Science in Beautiful Space Travels Without Leaving the Ground! , 90% of Your Body Isn’t You! , The Beauty of Bio-Paint, The Plant Messiah Can Help Save Us All, Discovering Fascinating Plant Behaviors, and Magical Molecular Mixology: Barchef.
And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.
