Painted from the beauty of life.
Heather is a representational oil painter working in both the studio and the outdoors. She paints portraits, figurative, coastal paintings, and still life, using the traditional drawing and painting methods.
Coastal Plein Air
Small studies painted on location along the Banana River and the Atlantic Space Coast, directly from observation. These plein air studies are also used for larger paintings in the studio.
The Artist
Heather Collins loves to paint the beauty of human life and nature. She paints everything from portraits and commissions to narrative figurative art, and from land and seascapes to the still life paintings she creates from life. She admires the traditional art of the Old Masters and the resurgence of classical contemporary realism.
In the classical method, she starts with a drawing and a monochromatic grisaille underpainting, building passes of color painted in several layers. She also uses the direct method for plein air and alla prima studies, which are painted all at once, and are done by blending the wet on wet paint in one or a few sessions. Heather also uses many of the same techniques when she paints in soft pastels, and her drawings are done in pencil and charcoal.
“A painting earns its light. Nothing goes in until the drawing and the values can carry it.”
Richard Schmid
She was also the longtime host of the television series Portraits in Pastels, where she taught portrait and drawing classes.
The Painting Process
Sight size or comparative measurement drawings:
Establishes accurate proportions.
Monochromatic grisaille:
Sets the value structure for light, shadow, and form.
The block in:
Shadows stay transparent.
Building layers:
Fat over lean after each pass has dried.
Curing the oil paint:
The layers oxidize over time.
Varnishing:
Protects the painting and brings deep colors into balance.
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