Meet Artist Rosemary Conroy
Weare artist finds joy in all creatures great and small
“At least I’m good at reinventing myself,” says artist Rosemary Conroy of Weare. Conroy was born, raised and schooled in New York City, but after working for several years as a computer support specialist for Wall Street, her professional life lost its luster. Riding the subway and wearing pantyhose every day was not in her game plan. Next, working at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests was fulfilling, but after the 9/11 attacks, she realized she needed to find her dream job soon. She wanted to become a full-time artist.
Today Conroy’s love of wildlife is omnipresent in her paintings. The eyes of her subjects, birds and bears and even whales, give them a real personality. That’s her joy — to capture the spirit of the animal. The connection she feels with the creature is parlayed to the viewer by detailing a knowing eye, adding bright patterns of color, and laying down loose strokes to render their form. She says, “I looked these animals in the eye before I painted them and I want the viewer to care about them too. We need to realize we all share the same planet.”
Conroy knows her subjects. She has traveled to Manitoba to study polar bears, Minnesota to study black bears, out West to study bison, and she even swam with massive humpback whales in the Dominican Republic. These are the same whales that summer off the New England coast near Stellwagen Bank.
“To look a humpback whale in the eye in their natural environment is an amazing experience,” she says. Back in her new spacious Francestown studio, Conroy captures their joyful energy on large canvases.
Meet the whales yourself. Conroy is offering in-person visits at her studio, where she is following all health protocols outlined by the state. Email, call or text her to arrange an appointment, or book through her website. Ever the conservationist, she relates that the real humpbacks are no longer near extinction through good conservation efforts.
Find It
Rosemary G. Conroy
Studio B
74 B Main St., Francestown
rosemaryconroyart.com, (603) 315-9060
hello@rosemaryconroyart.com
Conroy recently had a one-woman show of her latest paintings at the WREN Gallery in Bethlehem. Currently she is offering private showings at her studio (see information above), and is also represented by Square Rabbit in New London and Sullivan Framing and Fine Art Gallery in Bedford.
Prices range from approximately $2,900 and up for larger paintings. Affordable reproductions are also available.