Heather Arenas: Keeping It Loose – November 3-4, 2023
$370.00
Heather will demo in bite sized chunks to present progressive concepts in building a painting. We will discuss choosing good photos and designing a composition that includes figures.
There will be a lot of information. A notebook, sketchpad, drawing supplies and painting supplies are all required.. Hours: 9am – 4pm
12 in stock
When Heather Arenas began her professional career, she decided there was no need for formal study because she had many opportunities to paint alongside some world class artists like Kim English and Daniel Sprick in Denver, Colorado. After several years of live study painting figures and landscapes in Colorado, Heather started to incorporate travel to find new subjects to paint such as the rainy streets of Barcelona, the gorse and sheep in Scotland and the colorful people and landscapes in Curacao. After a trip, she would return and paint a series to commemorate the experience.
Heather’s most recent series stems from a trip to see the museums in New York City. Since then she has been exploring the gestures of people viewing the exhibits and how expressive they can be to tell a narrative that goes beyond the walls of the museum. This series changed her attitude toward painting from just representing a subject to also incorporating less tangible ideas into her work. The woman in the yellow dress that appears in many pieces in this series represents her grandmother and other family members who supported her in her artistic career.
Heather’s style is recognizable by her high contrast, extensive use of grays, and bold brush work. She uses a combination of realism and impressionism to illustrate her story. Her goal is for her work to stand out from the crowd.
“My purpose as an artist is to create work that goes beyond ‘That’s nice’ to creating stories with paint. I’m involving the viewer in the scene through experiences and memories of places they’ve been and people they know. I create multi-figure works that are expressive through gesture and a sense of place.”
Recent Awards
Cover of the FAC 2023 Museum & Gallery Guide
AIS National Exhibition 2022, ‘Your Move!’, Hon Mention
Bold Brush June 2022, ‘We Are More Than Just …’, Finalist
Bold Brush Feb 2022, ‘Show Me the Monet!’, Finalist
Cover of the FAC 2021 Museum Guide
Jerry’s Artarama, Self Portrait Competition May 2020, ‘I’ve Got This!’, Finalist
Gateway Intl, Oct 2019, ‘A Small Offering’, Finalist
WAOW Fall Online 2019, “Left Turn, Clyde”, Best of Show
Identity Portrait Competition September 2019, “I’ve Got This!”, Grand Prize
WAOW National Juried Exhibition 2019, “Blush”, Pursuit of Beauty award
Gateway Intl, June 2019, “Moth-Winged Thoughts Carry Me Away”, Finalist
AWA Spring Online 2019, “I’ve Got This”, Finalist
Gateway Intl, 2017-2018 Grand Finale, “Red In The Sun”, 3rd Place
WAOW Spring Online 2018 for “Modern Day Venus”, Honorable Mention
Chosen for AWA 25 in 25 Video Feb 2018, 25 in 25
Gateway Intl Painting Contest, December 2017 for “Passion”, Finalist
Gateway Intl Painting Contest, November 2017 for “Red in the Sun”, Finalist
Sedona Art Prize, August 2017 for “It Takes All Kinds”, Finalist
Sedona Art Prize, June 2017 for “Red in the Sun”, Finalist
Bold Brush, May 2017 For “Oscar and Sharon’s Big Day Out”, Best of Show
AWA Spring Online 2017, “Fisherman at Rest”, Finalist
Sedona Art Prize, May 2017 for “Colorful Subject”, Finalist
WAOW Nat. Juried Exhibition 2016 for “Home on the Range”, Art of the West Editor’s Choice
AWA National Juried Exhibition 2016 for “Orange Taffeta”, Finalist
WAOW Hot Summer Nights 2016 for “After the Dance”, Best Overall
WAOW Hot Summer Nights 2016 for “31st and Lexington”, Honorable Mention
OPA Online Showcase Spring 2016 “Belizean Chef”, Honorable Mention
AWA Spring Online Show 2016 for “Margaritas in Tubac”, Finalist
FASO August 2015 Bold Brush for “After the Lunch Rush” Finalist
Finalist, Bold Brush May 2015 for “Angel in Disguise”
Honorable Mention, CFAI Figurative show May 2015 for “Lady in Red”
Finalist, AWA Spring Online Show 2015 for “Farmers Market Flowers”
2nd Place, WAOW Spring Online show 2015 for “Farmers Market Flowers”
3rd Place, Bold Brush January 2013 for “Ponytail”
Jury Award Women Artists of the West 43rd National Exhibition 2013 for “Tapestry”
Best Figurative and Wet Wall Painting of the Day Alla Prima Westcliffe, 2013
Heather will demo in bite sized chunks to present progressive concepts in building a painting. We will discuss choosing good photos and designing a composition that includes figures. Students will bring 3 or 4 photos of their own choosing (working from an IPad or tablet is acceptable. Phones are not.) We will work as a group to look at each person’s photos to help them workout the best composition on paper which the students will paint in the PM and may finish at a later time.
There will be a lot of information. A notebook, sketchpad, drawing supplies and painting supplies are all required.
