The UA-EACC Gallery presents People and Things, an exhibition by artist Connie McCann of Maumelle, Arkansas. The exhibit will run through Friday, February 28th.   

An Arkansas native, Connie McCann has spent most of her life working as an artist and art teacher. She earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Education degrees in visual art from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. After graduating, she taught art in both Little Rock and North Little Rock public school districts for 25 years.  

McCann's work as an artist has changed and evolved throughout her career. She has worked with a variety of media, and her styles have ranged from impressionism to expressive, and more recently realism. Although she has drawn and painted a variety of subjects, McCann's work usually features portraiture and still life, and she uses oil paint and soft pastel when working with portraiture and the human figure. 

"I begin my work by setting up my own compositions and then take photographs that I crop and manipulate in Photoshop. To add compositional interest to my portraits, I sometimes partially hide the face with an object, fabric, or a hand," McCann explained. "I approach my still life paintings in much the same method as my portraits and try to use a strong light source to add interesting shadows to the composition. I focus on strong composition, color, balance, and lighting to enhance the final piece," she added. 

McCann was awarded the Little Rock School District's Crystal Award as part of the Teacher of the Year program, and she received the Arkansas Art Educators Secondary Level Art Educator of the Year award. Now retired from teaching, McCann spends a large portion of her time creating art in her studio, traveling, and spending time with her family. Her work has been featured in a variety of state and regional shows and exhibits. She is currently represented by Boswell Mourot Fine Art in Little Rock.

The Gallery is located at 1700 Newcastle Road in Forrest City.  Daily hours for the Gallery are Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., or as scheduled for special group tours. There is no charge for admission.  For more information, call 870-633-4480, ext. 352.

"Say What," 15 x 15, Oil on Paper