Untitled
- oil on canvas
- 19 x 23 in
- Connie Madsen
The ground is so far below as to not be visible in Connie Madsen's depiction of a bald eagle flying above snow-covered mountains. There are just clouds, mountaintops, and clear blue skies. Everything in the piece is soaring the eagle is soaring, the mountains are soaring with their severe cliffs that spiral toward the sky. The eagle has attained an altitude the mountains can only aspire to. In the composition, the eagle, in the foreground, takes roughly the same amount of space on the canvas as the massive mountain in the background, and with its plumage the darkest color in the sky, it has a conceptual heaviness that balances the majestic landscape beyond. The artist was drawn to the rugged beauty of the mountains, and the eagle, she says, was a symbol of America.
Connie Madsen was born and raised in Bountiful, Utah, where she met her husband. She took a painting class from the University of Utah and really loved it. But the marriage and six children came along, "and painting was the least thing on my mind," Madsen says. The family moved to Coalville, and about ten years later, almost by accident, she took a painting class with Carol France. "A friend invited me to watch her paint at Carol France's little studio for oil painters," Madsen says. "Carol must have thought I was there to paint because she handed me a canvas and taught me everything I know." Madsen has been painting ever since. She enjoys painting just about anything, and has won multiple awards in art shows throughout the years, her favorites being Copper Plate and People's Choice awards from the Summit County Fair. She shares her talent with others by teaching painting classes to youth.
- Created: 2009
- Current Location: Summit County Administration Building - First Floor - 60 N Main St Coalville, UT 84017 (google map)