June Conte Pryor: A Gallery in Remembrance
This collection, with permission for use given by the Pryor family, celebrates the life and works of June Conte Pryor, a well known and celebrated watercolorist who called New Canaan home.
Covering a range of 12 years of work (2008-2020), the collection offers a range of topics, from still life, to scenery, and flowers. Included are example's of June's self designed style "splash paintings" a form which she sometimes used to achieve a more stylized abstract effect.
An accomplished artist who placed in watercolor competitions over the years, June exhibited great dedication and passion to her craft. Her memory and artisitc vision will always be in her work, inspiring and delighting for years to come.
Please note: We have included June's original words alongside her artwork, and have made minor edits to maintain proper grammar.
June Pryor and her niece Madeleine Swan
Artist Bio: June's lifelong passion was her love of watercolor, and she took inspiration from the beautiful landscapes, seascapes, and innate beauty of her native Connecticut.
She held a Master's Degree in fine arts from Columbia University, and served as a master teacher of art teachers ata Southern Connecticut State College. She was a prize-winning artist, selected as the winner in the watercolor category in the American Artist 70th anniversary competition for her painting "Golden Ruhl", which depicts a boat berthed in Darien's Five Mile River. She also won the Cheseborough Ponds Award, the Edgar Whitney Memorial Award, the E.C. Potter Award, the Koenig Prize, and the Westport President's Award.
Artist Statement: “In choosing a subject, I always look for exciting compositions in nature or man-made artifacts,” says Connecticut artist June Pryor. “For me, what makes a scene exciting is that it has pizzazz, or a vibrant color scheme. Although I am a realist, I look for abstract qualities.” Pryor photographs scenes that interest her and paints from the photos. She explains that saving the whites is “a must” for her because she believes that showing the paper is an important part of watercolor painting. “I always look for a design that will draw you into it from a distance and then compel you to look closer at the details to see how the painting was executed,” the artist says.
