Artist Heather Clements

By Diane Mercado, Photography By Savannah Dean

“Native Serenity,” by Panama City-based artist Heather Clements invokes a sense of peacefulness and introspection. As in all of her work, shadows and bright highlights predominate. The oil-on-canvas painting shows the artist herself, branches cascading up and around her naked back. It invokes sensual translucence and combines all the hallmarks relative to her individual style, the characteristic black and white and the intrinsically detailed depiction of the female physique. Her work incorporates a captivating mixture of realism with a measure of surrealism.

The work with female models is a personal preference and Heather focuses on the natural beauty and curves of the female body and the true essence of each individual model. She chooses her models intuitively. When taking reference photos for later use, Heather asks each model to pose wearing no makeup and keeping their hair natural. “If you put images of women in the world you have a responsibility to depict them realistically,” she reflects. “I’m looking for natural women, some of whom don’t even think themselves beautiful.”

Heather always knew she wanted to be an artist. She graduated (cum laude) with a B.F.A. degree from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2007.

“Early on my art wasn’t really about much,” Heather admits. Her main concern was always to learn and perfect her skills as an artist through experimentation with many mediums – watercolor, acrylic, oils, scratchboard, linoleum printmaking, silkscreen, ink, wood-burning, pastels. She gradually narrowed down her preferences to intricately-cut paper designs, drawing with graphite, and charcoal and oil painting.

Still it took many years of personal and emotional struggles before her art found its voice, she explains. As her work has evolved, so has her “art voice,” that has resonated with her patrons and art enthusiasts in and around Bay County, garnering her many awards and solo exhibits. She recently won the Best of Show award during this year’s 53rd Bay Annual Exhibit at the Panama City Center for the Arts.

For the past five years as Heather has grown as an artist and perfected her skills, she has blended her highly-refined artistic skills in female portraiture and figure drawing with a deep sense of responsibility. “After reaching a point of happiness and self-awareness, I was able to consciously choose what to make my art about. Of all the important subjects I was tempted to tackle, I felt a need to concentrate on humanity’s biggest issue: the environment,” she explains. “We often think everything has to be about the opposition of humans versus nature, but really that makes no sense. We are nature. Forgetting that has obviously taken a colossal toll on our environment, but it also means we have lost a beautiful connection with our natural environment.”

In all her art, no matter what medium she uses, Heather relies heavily on the use of fractals, self-similar patterns found throughout nature and the cosmos. “Fractals are an amazing mathematical representation of our interconnectivity with everything else,” she says. “I have pieces where tattoos look like veins, then look like branches, then sprout into three-dimensional leaves.”

Not surprisingly, when asked how long any given piece might take to complete, she states, “a lifetime,” as she takes into consideration all the countless hours of daily practice she contributed to reach her current level of expertise.

“Techniques that have taken many years of learning and practice together create depth in a piece. I do love strong lighting and shadows to create high contrast. I’m also a glutton for detail and textures. High contrast and detailed textures definitely help in the 3-D illusion.”

And as most artists would admit, the process continues on every piece they work on. “I like to think my work is always evolving. I constantly question my own work, seeking inspiration and striving to continually say new things with my work.”

In actuality, the time spent on any individual piece depends on its complexity, style, size, and medium, but typically between 20-50 hours. Heather strives to create original and meaningful images that viewers can connect with on some emotional level. “We live in a culture that has lost its deep connection with the Earth, the wilderness,” she remarks. “Our disconnect with the rest of nature is not intrinsic to our species, it’s more of a cultural habit and like all cultural habits it can change.”

In previous years, Heather owned and operated Gallery Above in downtown Panama City and hosted monthly art exhibits, music events for local and nationally touring bands, swing dancing events, and film nights and, after its closing, she went on to become the exhibition manager and graphic designer for the Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida, now Panama City Center for the Arts and curated large and exciting exhibits. In 2010, she decided to dedicate herself to her artwork full time.

Eventually this led to Heather’s association with City Arts Cooperative, a union of visual, musical and dancing artists under one roof. Individual directors share the cost of running the space that includes a gallery, two dance and several artists’ studios. Heather continues to work as director offering private and semiprivate lessons in portrait and figure drawing.

“I go back and forth about wanting gallery representation in bigger cities,” she admits. “The benefit is selling more work but the drawback is I lose the connection with the people who buy my art.” Heather says she treasures the relationships she’s built with her patrons. “My paintings are like my babies. I want to know who is adopting them.”

There is deep understanding and insight. “Art is the language of our culture,” Heather says. “It helps shape our identity. Art unifies us and has the power to influence us on a deeper level like nothing else. “I’m living the dream. Maybe the key to happiness is having no expectations. I always knew I would make my living through art somehow, but this is better than I could have imagined.”

Heather Clements’ artwork is on exhibit at the City Arts Gallery at 318 Luverne Avenue in downtown Panama City and can be seen and purchased online at www.heatherclementsart.com.

Heather Clements, Contact Info:
(703) 915-0615
www.heatherclementsart.com
heatherart@hotmail.com