Not much else to say…

Slowly pushing through.

New WIP below, playing with pushing and pulling the space between multiple layers.

It’s interesting to let go and allow for something to appear.

Below is my submission for the 2019 Johnson City, TN Public Art Fundraiser.

To see, 2019, Aquarelle, Acrylic, and Resin on Panel.

I recently returned from a trip to Portland, Oregon. It was a much needed getaway that proved fruitful. While there, I visited a unique taxidermist shop, Paxton Gate. They have a wonderful selection of insects, skeletons, and other goods. It’s a real laboratory that I highly recommend visiting.

I might have brought the beauty below home with me.

Blue Morpho Didius

Also while there, I picked up a great little Taschen book, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. It contains wonderful diagrams of animals, plants, and insects. It’s a nature nerd’s dream. Check it out!

Each piece has its base and is mounted. More to follow.

Now that I’m in the thick of it, I think I’ll continue with my list of influences.

6. William Kentridge - His thought provoking stop animations embody everything I love about drawing. Check out: William Kentridge Art 21.

7. Julie Mehretu - Her vocabulary and sense of space is absolutely unmatched. Go hang out in the entryway of SFMOMA. She has two gigantic canvases just begging the viewer to lose themselves.

8. Kara Walker - Silhouettes, the Deep South, and symbolism. Need I say more?

9. Gregory Euclide - He takes contemporary landscape to a whole new level. Do you listen to Bon Iver? If not, you should and buy the vinyl.

10. Kymia Nawabi - Excellent drawing, symbolism, culture, color, and she won season 2 of Bravo TV’s Work of Art.

Want to see who else I follow?

Check out: HMBruglia-Pinterest

I’ve started shooting videos and time lapses for my new YouTube Channel.

You can always view my Instagram story highlights here: lofi_heather.

Twenty pieces will be completed over the summer. I spent the past week diving off into the unknown. New multi-layered materials are on the horizon. For now, I am simply beginning with the base drawings. We’ll see what happens.

I’m considering creating the other four Platonic solids with this same method and in same size.

New work is coming, and I thought it might be interesting to share with you other artists I reference.

Now, keep in mind this list is continuously growing and changing over time. I prefer contemporary art, but also have a deep appreciation for the Renaissance masters when it comes to drawing. 

1. Anselm Kiefer - I first encountered his work my last year in Art school. The combination of his love for constant self inquiry mixed with a unique heavy layered hand, and floating polyhedra strikes a deep cord. My favorite painting of his is titled “Melancholia”. 

2. Hilma Af Klint - I only discovered her in the last three years, while searching for another female artist fascinated with the spiritual “other”. Her unique language and symbolism is something I aspire too. Of course, this past year her popularity grew thanks to a very loving family, and the Guggenheim.

Look up “No. 30, Buddha’s Standpoint in Worldly Life”. It’s complex simplicity brings such a feeling!

3. Robert Fludd - He was a physician, astrologist, and occultist that created incredible etchings of mysticism and Hermeticism. I often refer to his work, when I need a bit of intellectual focus. 

There is a great book of his works and others by Taschen titled “Alchemy and Mysticism”. I’ve read mine so often, that the spine has fallen off. 

4. Andrew Wyeth - I don’t really know what to say except that his work breaths great love through technical focus. He’s another that I refer too for drawing. His paintings of Helga are worth a long examination.

I feel like those are a good starting point. More to come! 

Below is my final submission for Vol. 14 of the Sketchbook Project. 

From the selected themes, I chose “Things I’ve left behind”.

Each tiny painting is a rough plan for a larger piece, that I will complete this year. For me, keeping a sketchbook is an integral part of the creative process.  I often return to older books, when I feel the need to expand the view.

Sketchbook inside cover progress.  

My mother read me fairy tales from the 1940’s. I remember the books had intricate inside front and back covers. I am creating my own version of these patterns now.

I’ve decided to participate in the Brooklyn Art Library’s Sketchbook Project. Why? For me, there is no separation between drawing and writing. One only compliments the other by adding a new mysterious piece to the puzzle of life. A professor once said, “Heather no matter what, keep a Sketchbook. Things will get crazy and you can always go back to it.”  He was right. So, if you don’t keep one, maybe give it a try?

I’m diving in having made my choice from the list of selected themes. “Things I’ve left behind” matches many of the concepts in my current work. I’ll be posting pages from the book as it progresses, and do a final post before it is mailed out. 

Once received, it will become part of a traveling exhibition and be digitized on the Brooklyn Art Library’s website. 

This year has been one of constant change.

In January, I made it my aim to get back into an artistic practice with zero excuses. Instead of getting distracted by house cleaning and Netflix, I decided to use any free moment to enter the studio. It was difficult, but one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

By March, I had found a new direction for the work. It all comes from the need for this inner self study,that I find difficult to speak about in words. 

This seed of metaphysical inquiry was planted in me long ago as a child and continues to evolve. The work I created this year dealt with owning early impressions of religion and belief. My aim was to make contact and peace with those ideals, that had been deeply impressed upon me. I’m still exploring this forgotten land, but I’m also moving gradually into Book II. What happens next? It is my hope that you will continue on this journey with me. 

May brought a big opportunity. I was invited to show my work with three other established artists here in Sacramento. Together we constructed a pop up gallery to view on the Sac Open Studios Tour. It was such a good intention to follow. I had not worked with other artists so intensely since  school. We all worked together diligently with respect, and spoke about our common nostalgia. We also sold a good amount of work, and had a great party. For the first time in years, I felt like myself again. 

Below are some photos from the show that took place in September. I just love these ladies!

October brought more changes. At the beginning of the month, I was offered a new position (day job), where I’d been applying for years. I graciously accepted and began to plan an exit from my part time position.

I quickly learned that transitions are difficult, and many are not supportive of change. What is that about? Why can’t we lift each other up more often? I feel this is an important step in growth, and something I take very seriously.  

On that note, a long time friendship I had with someone also ended abruptly. It was clear there was nothing I could do to try and save it. I had given it my best effort, but it was done. Life was telling me clearly, “It’s time to move on now.”

So, I’m grateful. This year has taught me so much. From successful daily practice to letting go with acceptance, each lesson has been learned with humility. 

Here’s to 2019!

Well, I’m slowly getting back to it.  

I’ve decided to focus on pattern/mark making and work with lighting/shadow. Below are some tiny sketches I’m simply experimenting with at the moment. I’m hunting a shop that sells dried/collected insects, so that I can get a direct look at them. I really love the reflective detail in their shells and appendages. They are so complex and yet so fragile. 

Pushing and pulling the space with better craftsmanship, but somehow with more freedom is my direction.

This framed painting will only be on sale at the Verge Center for the Arts, Sac Open Studios preview exhibition. 

Ether, (Dodecahedron) Aquarelle on Canvas, Framed Red Oak. 19 x 23, 2018. $250.00.  

 “The truth of a thing is in the feel of it, not in the think of it.”-Stanley Kubrick 

Fire Ant WIP, Mixed Media on Rives BFK. 2018. 

Another Platonic Solid that will join the other three.

Octahedron, Aquarelle on Canvas, 16x20. 2018

This is one side of the large diptych I’ve posted before. A massive EF 4 travels down the highway to my childhood neighborhood, Cherry Park. I paint the storm the way in which it moved and sounded.  The other side of the diptych will be the house I loved most as a child, 719 Cherry Stone Drive.