Wed 1 Apr 2009
Julie Heffernan Rising
Posted by A.A. under Made me look, Painting
[5] Comments
Julie Heffernan describes the process for her artistic inspiration:
“Before I’m actually sleeping, as I relax and get out of the conscious mind, pictures will flood into my head, kind of like a movie,” Heffernan explains.
“It’s not like daydreaming or remembering. They’re spontaneous pictures that I just sit back and watch. And then I’ll fall asleep. When I wake up, it’s at that point where the images start to stream in, and out of those I’ll usually ‘see’ something.”
The first time I saw Julie Heffernan’s work was in 2004. My wife and I spontaneously decided to run through a local museum despite the approach of the closing hour. What followed I’ll never forget. I had not yet heard of Julie Heffernan. When I entered the exhibit room I became entrance by “Everything That Rises”. The image instantly connected with me. Varieties of birds emanate from a hovering fire over a chandelier amidst falling berries. All of this set within a greek revivalist surrounding. It was love at first sight for me. I wont interpret a meaning, I will leave that to the individual observer. Her work combines realism with fantasy, allegory, portraiture, and still life. Yet all these elements in are in a natural balance that is both innately pleasing and also mysterious.
All images can be clicked to enlarge. Enjoy!
More Julie Heffernan:
I had fashioned to leave a comment, man do I’ve a difficult time writing
a blog. Im looking to kick start one on my website and I must
say
its not easy at all. I really do admire people like yourself who
are
able to write about anything with ease. Keep up the nice work!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing. : )
Amazing work… I love the blog.. really puts things in perspective.. you just never know what life will throw at you.. and it also goes to show that we artists never see things quite the way others see it… I see the world in brushstrokes… and when I paint it’s never just a straight painting … I get spirits coming into the painting.. whether you see them at the end is a whole different thing… but I know they are there.. I most certainly understand how it just shows up in her work… I love it… thank you so kindly for sharing her work with us…
When I saw your artwork I was really surprised. I’ve not seen work that evokes so much feeling in quite awhile. There is an air of the supernatural or fantasy about the images. Lovely work & interesting article about your inspiration & preparation.
peace
Mojustice
Excellent! Julie Heffernan is a modern master of the surreal, I love her work!!