Heather Barberie

I grew up in New England and was torn between studying theatre, fine art or film in college. I focused on theatre and in the process I learned costume and set design, and still took as many fine art classes as I could. When I made San Francisco my home city, I performed in theatre and formally studied art, finally solidifying my passion for painting.

My time working in the theatre has been a powerful influence in my painting. The visual of the stage presenting something so vast with a sprawling scene and then pulling the audience into a small singular moment of a character's life, resonates with me when I approach my canvas. I like to take something small, that I connect with through the memories it provokes or the simple beauty it emanates, and recreate those special feelings for the viewer. My still lifes are objects of love and humor and my landscapes are places that are very familiar to me, recreated to be identifiable in a unique way to others.

Southern Connecticut State University
Academy of Art, San Francisco