WAVES IN THE DESERT

Original Paintings by Heidi van Ert

Beginning August 29th

About These Pieces…

I love the ocean - with every part and particle of my being. It feels like home, in every sense of the word to me. At the ocean I can breathe deeply and I can remember more clearly. For me, the ocean is a place of coming back to myself, again and again and again. Just like the waves. Coming back to what matters most. Coming back to simplicity and neverendingness, faith, and trust. Waves are gentle and soothing reminders of constancy in the face of change.

The irony of living in the desert, while feeling so at home at the ocean, is not lost on me. And so, given life choices I have made, I paint waves…in the desert.

A few years ago I participated in a watercolor workshop with Willamarie Huelskamp. Her parting challenge to us was that if we really wanted to learn how to paint something, we should paint it 100 times. I took the challenge*.

The waves hanging here are a part of that 100-wave commitment. They are created with layers of watercolor paints, luminescent/iridescent/interference paints, and oil pastels. I feel I am just beginning to scratch the surface of how to really paint waves. And I am convinced that I could paint waves for the rest of my life and still not completely know "how"! I have begun to see wave patterns everywhere - in the clouds, in mountains, in fields of flowers, and in the sands of the desert. As part of my creative process, after every 20 waves I paint, I head to a new part of the coast and take more photos of waves to use as the basis for my work. I breathe in the peace and clarity and inspiration I find at the ocean. And, I bring that inspiration with me back to Salt Lake, back to the desert.

I am on my way - I have 30 waves still to paint. I'm learning.

And, I'm having a wonderful time making waves

*Thanks to Willamarie - for the challenge; to Pete Peterson - for ideas, inspiration, and instruction (in life and in paint); to friends and fellow artists who have critiqued my work, shared suggestions, and given me photos from their travels; and to Bill and Paul - for the incredible framing.

Share in the enjoyment Heidi has found in this process.