Heather's Portfolio

Reflecting Beauty Art Blog

Exhibits

1st Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art, April 2004 "La Dolce Vita"

1st Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art, August 2004 "Blank Canvas"

Osceola Center for the Arts summer show, June 2004

Orlando Magazine 2nd Annual Paint the Town edition, January 2005

1st Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art, October 2005 "Work in Progress"

United Arts of Central Florida 2006 Artsploration Contest- 1st Prize

Artist's Statement

I would describe myself as a practical and efficient person who wants to do something that will really make a difference. However I feel most alive when I am painting, or sketching, or doing anything creative.

Eric Liddell was a runner in the 1924 Olympics and later became a missionary to China. In the movie “Chariots of Fire,” which portrays Liddell’s life, he says that God made him fast, and that he feels God’s pleasure when he runs. Although he felt called to be a missionary in China, he also knew God had given him a gift in running. He delays his departure to Asia to compete in the Olympic games and makes history in the process.

I feel God’s pleasure when I am painting, for me it’s an act of worship, reflecting back and imitating the beauty, which God created. In August 2003 my husband and I traveled through Colorado and Utah to the Grand Canyon. We visited six national parks in a week. The beauty I saw pierced my heart. It captured my imagination with its vividness and grand scale and invited me to explore the vast and wildness of a place with minimal human influence. I long to visit again, and yet the isolation of the places is too intimidating to remain there.

I set a goal after returning from vacation to take the time out of life to do something that makes my heart soar and paint at least one landscape a week. Oil pastels are my medium of choice. They allow me to work quickly, not get overly hung up in exactness, use brilliant colors, feel texture, and layer light and shadow.

On my journey to make a difference and be practical I have discovered the validity of expressing my creativity. We are created in the image of God. (While God doesn’t have a physical form we show his attributes.) God is creative--just look around at the variety. No wonder we find joy in creating, and reflecting the beauty we see.