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  About Heather Robinson
I’ve been painting since 2001, before which I worked as a web and graphic designer. My educational background is in architectural design, which initially sparked the fascination with ornament and pattern that drives my artwork. I paint in my studio in the Mission/Bernal neighborhood of San Francisco, California. About the "Net and Nest" series These works are about the complexities and contradictions of the idea of "home." Home can be a happy, safe retreat - a nest - and at the same time be an entangling attachment - a net. In these paintings, I borrow materials, motifs and techniques from traditional domestic arts, painting textile patterns, crocheting lace, and embroidering words and details onto the surface. I build up many layers in the pieces, layers one may or may not be able to see through. Some parts completely obscure what's below, others are cut away to reveal the painting beneath. The "occupants" of the paintings - birds, butterflies and flowers - are taken from collections of antique trading cards and grounded within a simple landscape. The net or nest can encroach or embrace. About the "Earthly Desires" works In this collection of paintings, I explore the juxtaposition of everyday objects with ornamentation. These works represent some of my thoughts about my life and the relationships that govern it. The ordinary item depicted in each piece, an object held in my hand, acquires personal symbolism as I complete the painting. The patterns are all completely hand-painted and based on historical textile designs. Painting the design is a meticulous process which gives me opportunity to meditate on the meaning of the work – more than a decorative element, the pattern is a testament to the time and thought process involved. Patterns that first appear to be uniform and symmetrical, upon closer examination reveal themselves to be irregular and varied as a result of human imperfection. The pieces are obliquely autobiographical, but I hope they speak to the viewer.
During my architectural and design studies, I became fascinated with ornament and patterns. My interests lie with how ornamentation has been traditionally applied to objects to enhance their beauty. The stylized depiction of the female form has also often been used as ornamentation. In these paintings, I incorporate images of classical female nudes with antique textile patterns. The contours of the human figure interact with the lines that form the pattern, reducing the depiction of the figure to the level of the ornament. I then superimpose these linear, graphic representations upon richly layered ornate foundations. I embed in the paintings materials used for decoration, such as flowers, vintage cigarette cards, printed papers, and henna patterns, and decorative techniques such as stenciling and gilding. Through the union of images, materials and techniques, I seek to create works of sensual beauty, and to explore the language of embellishment and the historic idea of the female figure as decoration.
A series of mixed-media paintings of women’s torsos, these pieces are about the body’s ability to manifest feelings and retain memories. They speak to the center of the body as the core of a being, rather than the head and brain. If one were to take a cross-section of a woman, I imagine one might find this sort of emotional anatomy, consisting of internal monologues and the marks left by passing moments. The works together form a symbolic diary of small-but-significant personal events and emotional states.
All my artwork is supported by acid-free panel. I paint with Golden acrylic paints and mediums. When works are framed, they are done so using acid-free and UV-filtering materials to protect the work and ensure its longevity. Some materials used in my older collage works, such as flowers and vintage papers, may not be strictly archival. I have done my best to preserve these objects. As with all paintings, it's important to keep them away from direct sunlight. |