Elise McConnell • March 1, 1955 ~ May 3, 1998

Street painting was one of the MANY talents of Elise Suzanne McConnell.

Yet street painting by its nature validated one of her longest-held beliefs ~ that art by its nature is essentially impermanent. Where the beauty of a moment (almost like a life) is meant to be savored and enjoyed in the moment. Don’t miss it . . . as it won’t come this way again.

Elise was a v e r y s p e c i a l person ~ and anyone who knew her would tell you this.

Always more interested in the journey than in the destination!

Elise was . . . playful, intense, elusive, committed, deeply talented, and totally athletic. We saw her win the state Championship one year in the “One-man” Outrigger division ~ in a borrowed boat!

Outspoken on almost every subject ~ especially about subjects like Santa Barbara.

On any whim, Elise would love her She-bear, relish a quick trip to Aspen for skiing, or extend her musical talents (think OKTOBERFEST!) Whenever possible, she’d do it all at once!

Dianna & Rik were rarely surprised by Elise’s instant motivations ~ as almost everything she did was a celebration ~ and she never missed an opportunity to do her art • Viva la Fiesta!

Elise and She-bear at a special birthday for John West.

Family: Jan Lachenmaier, Ernie, and She-bear. Her Mother’s daughter all the way ~ and what a driven person she was! We wonder where she got THAT?! Rik is proud to be her long lost cousin ~ and just plain lucky to be related in any way to both Elise and Ernestine!

We have several prized pieces of Elise’s art . . . but none more precious than this little tag she made one Christmas for Mitzi, who was our Schnauzer, who was always a She-bear fan!

She was with us for just a moment, but her legend will live in our hearts forever.