Thursday, November 4, 2010

Heather Horton

Heather Horton was born in 1974 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Despite majoring in English Literature, she went on to graduate from Sheridan College's Interpretive Illustration. Program.

In 2002, 2003, and 2007 she was elected into The Federation of Canadian Artists, the Society of Canadian Artists, and the Ontario Society of Artists, respectively. Her work can be seen throughout various galleries in the United States, the UK, Germany, and of course, Canada. One can also find her artwork in Ankara, Turkey in the Canadian Embassy's permanent collection. And in Autumn of 2007 she was profiled on the Bravo! show "the Artist's Life."

Heather Horton mainly focuses on portraiture and still life in her paintings. Her art is very expressive though simultaneously unrestricted when it comes to her brush strokes. What is interesting about her is that she claims nature and her surroundings drive her desire to paint although her main inspiration is the human condition; she also states that are paintings are very realistic "but quite abstract when viewed up close."

I chose Heather Horton because since high school I have always admired her abilities to make quick and direct strokes come together to create realistic and expressive portraits of humans. Humans are my favorite art subjects, and we are both interested in the human mind and condition. I also chose her because her work seems to capture some of the hardest things to accurately portray. For example, in my opinion clear shower curtains are very difficult to paint, especially when people are behind them; yet, Horton has been able to make the process look simple while showing doing what she does requires much skill and time.

Here are some examples of her work that I like:

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Laura (Curtain)

2006

Oil on Canvas



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The Wedding Dress

2007

Oil on Canvas



She also paints landscapes. Here is one of those:


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Bennett's High Island

2009

Oil on Panel




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