We have another artist that’s part of the upcoming show, ‘Figuratively Speaking’ at the Phoenix art gallery on August 24th. Heather Anderson is a local artist residing in the Quad Cities area. We were lucky enough to get a sneak peak of her work in progress for Figuratively Speaking! Take a peek below.

Heather Anderson

[SP]*: How long have you been an artist?

Heather: I’ve been interested in making art since childhood, but I don’t think I really had the right to call myself a serious artist until a few years ago. In college is when I really discovered my voice and how I could get my feelings out through painting.

[SP]*: Tell us about your current body of work.

Heather: I am very much interested in the circus and the theater, any kind of performance art. I, myself am no thespian, but I am intrigued by the idea of donning makeup and costume to become someone else entirely for just one night.  For the past couple years, I have hidden myself (and the occasional friend/foe) behind such disguises in my paintings to tell stories both true and fantasy.

[SP]*: Tell us about your workspace and creative process.

Heather: As far as my work space goes, I have created in several different spaces over the past few years.  After sharing a studio space with other college students, then moving into my parents’ basement, I finally have a home of my own, with a room to make art (and a mess.)  When it comes to making art, I’m kind of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl.  I don’t plan, I don’t draw things out, and I certainly don’t spend every waking moment painting. I am a people watcher. I watch movies, I go see plays, I attempt to make costumes on my own, and then…after all of that…I just paint.  I clip things from magazines. I love those home improvement magazines- they have the best patterns and images of furniture, etc.  I am inspired by everything and everyone around me.  In the under-painting stage of each piece, I use bright, florescent acrylics to create a kind of skeletal structure in both the figures and their environment, occasionally letting these bare bones show through in the finished piece. I find satisfaction in leaving certain areas unfinished or unrefined, it’s like a visual “to be continued…”

Heather’s workspace

[SP]*: What are your artistic goals?

Heather: My goals as an artist are to experiment with as many different forms of art as possible and somehow form a career from the outcome of these experiments. What I mean is that I would like to merge my love for painting with my somewhat new fascination with costume and the theater.

Work in Progress

[SP]*: What’s the best advice ever given to you as an artist?

Heather: The best advice given to me as an artist, and as a human being, was that you have to get older, that’s inevitable, but you don’t have to grow up.  I have applied this advice to my work by using bold, primary color alongside whimsical characters to embrace my inner child. Also, I have been told numerous times that areas of “silence” in my paintings might be necessary, to keep from overwhelming the viewer.

You can see more of Heather’s artwork here.

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