Public perceptions about the nation's western heritage often are only misconceptions. For some, the pictures that come to mind about the American frontier are the idyllic scenes of cowboys relaxing by a campfire after a hard day on the trail, or a vast herd of cattle being led into the sunset by skilled ranch hands. Along with such limited visions about the country's treasured ancestry comes the impression that these lifestyles are confined to a past era and gone forever.

But today's American cowboy is still a reality. And for artist Connie Johnson, this fact is true as the simple, honest, and hard-working lifestyle that she lives and captures in here paintings. As such, Connie's western art depicts not a slanted view of the picturesque memories and sunsets by a truly accurate picture of today's American West.

Born and raised on a farm in northeast Iowa, Connie moved to Colorado in 1968 and lived several years in Colorado Springs before settling back into a rural setting 40 miles east of the city on the plains of Colorado.. It's in this natural, open setting of her country home that she captures on canvas the everyday lives of today's working cowboys, their stock and tools of their trade. Visiting and spending time at the places and with the people she paints are an intricate part of Connie's artistic process in capturing the true character and atmosphere of her subjects.

Connie's practice and dedication over the past 25 years of documenting the contemporary working cowboy has gained her the recognition of being one of the top female western artists. Connie is one of the few artists who will accept commission assignments with a limited number available, usually with a six-month backlog.

At this time, Connie is represented in Jackson Wyoming, Saratoga Wyoming, and at the Pine Creek Art Gallery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition to these fine galleries you can appreciate Connie's work at such prestigious shows as The Coors Exhibit at the National Western Stock Show, Mountain Oyster Club Show, Natureworks Art show, and the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs, where Connie was commissioned for six years, beginning in 1997, to produce the cover to their souvenir program and limited edition prints.