DON CONNOLLY

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BIOGRAPHY

Don Connolly has been a full time freelance artist since 1979.  Prior to then he had practiced as a serious amateur while pursuing careers in the RCAF and in business.  He works our of a studio in his home by a lake near Sydenham, Ontario.
 

Don was born and educated in Kingston, Ontario and at the age of 18 entered the Royal Canadian Air Force, was commissioned as a navigation officer in 1950, and was then assigned to duties with 426 (transport) Squadron on the Korean Airlift.  Subsequently he flew on Arctic, Continental, and TransAtlantic routes.  He later took post graduate service training to the level of Specialist Navigator (now Aerospace Systems Specialist) and then served as an instructor on the same course at the Central Navigation School.  In 1957 he was assigned as the first Canadian exchange officer to the then new USAF Academy, where he taught advanced navigational techniques.  He returned to Ottawa where he worked with the Defence Research Board and at Air Force Headquarters as a team leader in the fields of navigation research, systems analysis and operational research.  He resigned his commission in 1966 and left the service with the rank of Squadron Leader (Major) and an accumulation of 4000 flying hours.
 

He and a partner then started a small business - a bookstore - which ultimately grew and transmuted into a network of picture framing establishments consisting of a factory and five retail outlets in the Ottawa region (Conisart).  Subsequent conflicts with his partner over fundamental matters of policy led to the decision in 1978 to sever relations and enter full time, the profession of painter/illustrator.
 

Most of his paintings are executed in a realistic style, but he also enjoys doing abstracts and sculptures - the latter employing wood, plastics and paint.  Like many other realist painters, he confesses to as much interest in the abstract qualities of the images as in the subjects per se.  The range of subject matter is broad, including marines, landscapes, architectural studies, still lifes and portraits.  A very large share of his output is in the form of commissioned works, for both private and commercial clients.
 

A notable specialty sideline is aviation art, a field in which his reputation is well established.  He has done many covers and illustrations for aviation books and magazines, and over 1500 aviation works now hang in private and public collections.  In 1982, at the request of Canada's Wings Publishers, he illustrated and authored the book "Painting Planes - The Aviation of Don Connolly".
 

His skill as an illustrator is reinforced by his broad knowledge of aircraft and aviation history and a penchant for accurately researching each painting, so as to ensure maximum technical and historical accuracy.  The subjects which he has painted range from balloons and antique aircraft of the past to spacecraft of the future.
 

NOTABLE WORKS/AWARDS:
 

Perhaps the most often seen of his commissioned works was a suite of paintings which hung in lounges at Ottawa International Airport, major elements of which have just been acquired by the Canada Aviation Museum.  Other works adorn corporate offices at such companies as Bannister Pipelines, Doran Construction, Air Canada and the Canadian Space Agency.  Those in private collections are scattered as far afield as Hong Kong and Ireland.  Many of his paintings are also in the permanent collections of the Canadian War Museum, the Naval Air Museums of Canada and the USA, the National Museum of the Canadian Air Force, various Air Force command and squadron collections, and in a number of provincial aviation museums.  They have also been displayed regularly in juried shows at major air & space museums in the USA, notably, those in Oshkosh (EAA), Hampton Roads, Hammondport, San Diego, Pensacola, Seattle, Wichita, Fort Worth, Macon and Colorado Springs.  In 2003, ten of his major works were hung as the Canadian component of an invitational international exhibit at the USAF Museum in Dayton Ohio.

In January 1988, following a show at his Ottawa dealer's gallery, seven of his works were purchased by the Canada War Museum for its permanent collection.  Two years later he was commissioned by the Canada Aviation Museum (CAM) to plan and help launch its featured biannual series of ARTFLIGHT aviation art competitions/shows, which still continue with success and are now international in scope.  In 1996 he again collaborated with CAM in organizing and running a first-ever forum of Canadian aviation artists, which preceded the official opening of ARTFLIGHT 96.  He was subsequently elected as the first president of the organization which resulted from this gathering - the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame for its outstanding contributions to the cause of aviation history in Canada, receiving its coveted "Belt of Orion" award.

As a result of his prolonged efforts in the associated fields of aviation history and art, Don was presented in 1998 with the Fred Hatch Award by the Canadian Aviation Historical Society "for distinguished contributions to the advancement of Canadian aviation history"  The next year, and again in 2003 he was honoured at ARTFLIGHT shows with the first prize.  Other significant awards were first placements in both 2000 and 2005 in the prestigious aviation journal Aviation Week & Space Technology's annual "Best of the Best" competition.

While not identified as a muralist, Don has done several of note.  In 2986 he completed a large, five panel depiction of the history of Aylmer (QC) United Church, measuring 12 x 24' in size.  Another historical mural shows the city of Hull, Quebec (the Wrightville) as it appeared in 1825.  In Kingston a smaller mural depicting features of the local cityscape is installed in the foyer of the Ontario Government's OHIP building.  This was created as the result of his being one of six winners of a province-wide competition in 1983.

In 1994 the Royal Canadian Mint selected one of this paintings Finale, from the collection of the Canadian War Museum, as the basis for the design of one of the six coins released in its collectors' series "Canada Remembers".  This painting is now on permanent display at the museum.

Starting in 1986, a number of his aviation paintings have been reproduced as limited edition prints.  To date, editions of approximately thirty different subjects have been published, most notably a series of 14 issued by Canada's major aviation print publish, Aviation Art Canada.  A print specially commissioned in 1999 by the 416 Wing of the Canadian Air Force Association to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Air Force gained recognition as the official Air force 'poster' for the event.  The most recent print issue was done in 2004 for 424 Sqn., to commemorate the retirement of the Labrador helicopter from service.

From 1979 to 1991, Don was represented continuously in Ottawa by Studio Colleen, where he participated in several dozen or more one-person and shared shows.  He is currently represented in the Eastern Ontario area at the Canal Gallery in Merrickville, and the Studio 737 art gallery in Tweed, Ontario.

© 2005 Don Connolly
 

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