We were lucky to catch up with Heidi Rosner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Heidi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I walked into the room and suddenly felt all the color drain from my face. It was as if I was a member of an orchestra that was tuning up for a classical concert and I hadn’t had the benefit of music lessons. My first day at the Scottsdale Artists School had arrived.

I was carrying my grade school variety paints and brushes and a little pad of paper. I had signed up for a watercolor class that advertised, ”Beginners are welcome.” I had no idea what I’d gotten myself into. I learned quickly that this particular school was for professional and aspiring artists as well as the weekend warrior painter and hobbyist. This was no casual community center class here.

I had moved to Arizona from Southern California about six months earlier and was having a difficult time meeting people. I saw an ad for the school in a magazine and thought it would be a great way to meet some creative new friends. I had always liked artists and this could be a terrific opportunity to get involved with a new crowd. I signed up for a weeklong workshop and waited for the first day to arrive.

I’d dabbled in crafts while living in California – even went so far as to start a hand painted children’s clothing business that featured my graphic designs and colorful patterns, however, I had no experience in fine art whatsoever. I studied engineering in college and worked in the aerospace industry for twelve years before moving to Arizona to start my own management consulting business. So you can see, I was way out of my element in this classroom.

The instructor, a very accomplished professional artist, noticed my entrance into the classroom and watched as I nearly turned on my heels and ran for the door. I was clearly in the wrong place! She approached me in her wonderfully gentle manner and asked if she could help me. My response was “I am obviously in the wrong place, I should go.”

“Are you signed up for my class?” she asked.
“Yes, but I didn’t realize that it was a class of this caliber. I shouldn’t be here.”
“Are you interested in learning to paint?”

“I think so, it seems like something I would enjoy.”

“Well, if you are serious about it, it’s gonna cost you. Are you willing to make an investment in some supplies? If so, I will be willing to invest extra time this week to help get you started in the media.”

In that moment, she became a lot more than an instructor, she became my first mentor.

So, off I went to the art supply store with a shopping list of the basic tools of the trade. We started simply with some washes and some color mixing – just to get me used to the media and then quickly moved to still life and landscape painting. I took to the medium immediately and felt the level of excitement grow as I created scenes that actually looked like places I’d like to be. By the end of the week the instructor took me aside and said to me, “I don’t know what it is you do for a living, but you should strongly reconsider and focus on watercolor. It is what you are meant to do.” I had found something that was already inside of me just waiting to be discovered, and to think, I almost walked out of that room. That was over 28 years ago.

For several years, my painting was wedged in between consulting work, business travel, life and all that goes with it. I would paint when I could, but nowhere near often enough. I read every magazine and book on watercolor painting that I could get my hands on – great airplane reading material – and talked to artists of all kinds. I was a sponge and couldn’t get enough information. The problem was, I didn’t have enough time to paint and had even less confidence in my ability. When I did paint, I would stuff the finished painting in a drawer and move on to the next – never thinking of showing them to anyone!

About three years into my artistic endeavor, I saw that my mentor was having a plein air (in the open air) painting workshop in Santa Barbara. I was going to be in California on business so I called to see if I could drop in for a couple of days and paint with her. That was the turning point for me to really embrace watercolor as my medium of choice. I love to be outdoors and struggled as a painter feeling closed in when painting in my spare-bedroom-studio. Here was an opportunity to blend two of my favorite things – painting and nature. I felt that I really hit my stride and began to define my unique style as a painter, although I was still self-conscious about showing my work to anyone, much less parting with my work. I had only shared my paintings with a few close friends and family – clearly a biased crowd – and had not received validation from anyone “outside” my inner circle.

I loved painting en plein air and spent the next year painting on location as much as possible. I learned how to make my painting set up portable and took my kit with me on every trip – business or pleasure. Landscape painting has been a significant focus for me, particularly where there are architectural elements involved. I believe that my background in engineering helps me to capture architectural forms in a way that is both realistic and inviting. I have somewhat of a fascination with doors, windows and passageways and like to capture their sense of mystery and intrigue in my work. People often comment that they feel as if they could walk right into one of my paintings. I began to build a body of work that I was very proud of and willing to share with a broader audience.

About a year later, a dear friend of mine (and graphic designer) strongly encouraged me to publish some of my works on blank note cards – a way to share my images with people without having to part with any of my paintings. That was the beginning of what has become a successful art business.

I began exhibiting my work at fine art festivals over twenty six years ago and twenty one years ago took a leap of faith and left my consulting business behind to focus on my art full time. My strong background in business has certainly helped me to open doors and market my work more effectively. Although it took several years of long hours working dual careers and an enormous amount of work, it’s been the most rewarding career pursuit of my life.

I have found my place in the local art community and have met many incredible people through membership in various associations and participation in various art events. Because I am passionate about what I do, it seems like every day is a gift and I wake up looking forward to what it has to offer. I feel it’s my obligation to pass along the extraordinary mentoring I was lucky enough to receive and as a result actively seek ways to encourage young artists with passion and talent to pursue this path, certainly much earlier than I did. It’s one of the ways I choose to give back.

And to think, all of this happened because I wanted to make some friends – my wish has certainly come true.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Some of this info is covered in my bio story in the previous question…

One of the most unique aspects of my work is that I paint watercolor on canvas (rather than paper). I have developed a process to treat the canvas with layers of absorptive elements that enable the canvas to behave like paper and paint as if I were working on the more traditional substrate. I am then able to varnish these pieces to ensure their archival nature is preserved. As a result, I am able to work very large and I have eliminated the need to frame my pieces behind glass. This was a bit of a barrier for my collectors in my early career. I put on my engineer cap and solved the problem by creating this technique.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The response from my collectors is the most rewarding aspect of my career. I have been selling my art for twenty six years and I have clients from the very beginning who still come to visit me at shows and tell me how much they love the art they purchased from me. Some of my clients add to their collection every season, others are one-off collectors and it matters not what scale they acquire from me – when they return to tell me that they enjoy looking at my work every day or that it cheers them when they see it in their home – that’s an incredible feeling.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Engineering is a very rule driven career. Art, not so much. I am predominantly a self taught artist. I have done extensive reading on color theory, composition, values, design – all on my own. I never had the benefit of a fine art education to learn the “rules” of art. As a result, I never know if I am following the rules or breaking them. This is very liberating as an artist. I follow my gut more often than not. I rely on my drawing skills from engineering (vanishing point, perspective, etc.) and the rest is intuitive. Fortunately, I get it right more often than not!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heidirosner.com
• Instagram: heidirosnerfineart
• Facebook: Heidi Rosner Watercolor Paintings
• Linkedin: Heidi Rosner Fine Art

Image Credits
Heidi Rosner