Anita Heckman Fine Art
Mixed Media Printmaking, Monotypes- unique visual tapestries inspired by birds and nature
New! “Tulip Constellation 2.” “Normality is a paved road; It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.” — Vincent Van Gogh.
For this piece I wanted close registration between the monotype and multiple tetrapak pieces (15!)
Tulip tidbit: The Turks are believed to have been the first to cultivate tulips as early as 1000 AD, and the name "tulip" comes from the Turkish word for turban.
12.5” x 16.5” Monotype, tetrapak drypoints, on arnhem1628 paper.
30/06/2024
“Condor Coast” From the archives. Recently went camping at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park in Big Sur. Didn’t see any condors this time, but we had a great campsite by the river and some great hikes.
2008. 24” x 18”, Hand-printed Monotype, chine collé. SOLD; cards available on my website: https://www.anitaheckman.com/
26/06/2024
Telephone pole art. The light was just right and I love how the twine is woven in. Reminds me of stapling event fliers around town years ago. I don’t see many fliers posted anymore except yard sale signs, do you?
23/06/2024
Crying Cactus eyes… Closeup photo of a barrel cactus.
Happy Solstice! New Work: “Solstice Constellation (Cancer).” Cancer means Crab in Greek. Egyptians described it as Scarabaeus (Scarab), the sacred emblem of immortality. In Babylonia they saw it as a turtle. It doesn’t look like any of those to me, so I focused on the light and dark of the Solstice, since Cancer dates are June 21 – July 22. Cancer includes an “important star cluster known as the 'beehive'. Through an optical telescope, its stars look like a swarm of bees” and contains over 1,000 stars!
12.5” x 16.5” Monotype, tetrapak drypoint, alcohol transfers, collage, vintage 1959 Antarctica map on Arnhem 1618 paper.
29/03/2024
Eggstra! Eggstra! Go get a beautiful egg and support a good cause! Artist-made egg sale to support reproductive rights and preserve our democracy. Views of the eggs I decorated...
When: Tomorrow! Saturday, March 30, 2024, 4:00pm-6
Where: mk contemporary, 703 Front Street, Santa Cruz, CA
Enjoy Jazz by Stolen Moments and peruse the gallery’s upcoming show of Santa Cruz artists.
$40 - 100. All proceeds go to Walk the Walk USA.
Can’t make it to the sale? You can make a donation anytime to Walk the Walk: https://www.walkthewalkusa.org/
We'll be selling artist-made eggs to raise money for reproductive freedom. Last time we did this the eggs sold out and there were lines out the door. Don't get there late! Tell all your friends!
Walk the Walk USA is supporting year-round grassroots organizations across the country in strategically located, under-represented communities, where getting out the vote will be essential in 2024. Building community, neighbor to neighbor will strengthen the fabric of democracy long-term.
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28/03/2024
“Small Wonders II”
Piece #7 in the Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit in Watsonville, CA. Amazing art by 75 Santa Cruz County artists! All art is priced at $350 or less. And you don’t have to wait until the end of the show to get your favorite piece. You simply buy it and take it with you! The exhibit will be open March 20 – May 5, W- Sun 11 - 4.
8” x10,” Alcohol transfer, gouache, collage on Rice paper, mounted on wood panel
27/03/2024
We are so egg-cited: our egg sale is this Saturday!
When: March 30, 2024, 4:00pm-6:00pm
Where: mk contemporary art Gallery 703 Front Street, Santa Cruz, CA
Enjoy Jazz by Stolen Moments and peruse the gallery’s upcoming show of Santa Cruz artists.
We'll be selling artist-made eggs to raise money for reproductive freedom. Funds will go to Walk the Walk USA. Last time we did this the eggs sold out and there were lines out the door. Don't get there late! Tell all your friends!
Can’t make it to the sale? You can make a donation anytime to Walk the Walk USA: https://www.walkthewalkusa.org/
Walk the Walk USA is supporting year-round grassroots organizations across the country in strategically located, under-represented communities, where getting out the vote will be essential in 2024. Building community, neighbor to neighbor will strengthen the fabric of democracy long-term.
Sponsored by ARRT: Artists Respond and Resist Together
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22/03/2024
You’re invited!! Opening Reception for the Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit:
This SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2 - 4PM, at Pajaro Valley Arts, 37 Sudden St., Watsonville, CA 95076. Amazing art by 75 Santa Cruz County artists, including me! All art is priced at $350 or less. And you don’t have to wait until the end of the show to get your favorite piece. You simply buy it and take it with you! Can’t make it to the reception? The exhibit will be open March 20 – May 5, W- Sun 11 - 4. As art sells, new work will replace it…
19/03/2024
Happy Spring Equinox!! says “The Happy Kingfisher.”
Piece #6 in the Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit in Watsonville, CA, March 20 - May 5, 2024.
Location: Pajaro Valley Arts, 37 Sudden St., Watsonville, CA 95076. Opening reception: Sunday, March 24, 2 - 4PM. Exhibit hours: W- Sun 11 - 4.
(Amazon Kingfisher), 8” x10,” Monoprint, collage, gelliprint on Arnhem 1618 paper, mounted on wood panel
14/03/2024
"Glimpse" (American Pygmy Kingfisher)
Piece #5 in the Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit in Watsonville, CA, March 20 - May 5, 2024.
Location: Pajaro Valley Arts, 37 Sudden St., Watsonville, CA 95076. Opening reception: Sunday, March 24, 2 - 4PM. Exhibit hours: W - Sun 11 - 4.
8” x10,” Monotype, collage, gelliprint mounted on wood panel.
10/03/2024
“Duet II” -- Another piece in the Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit in Watsonville, CA, March 20 - May 5, 2024.
Location: Pajaro Valley Arts, 37 Sudden St., Watsonville. Opening reception: Sunday, March 24, 2 - 4PM. Exhibit hours: W- Sun 11 - 4.
8” x10,” (Angel’s Trumpet flowers with a Yellow-backed Oriole.) Distressed alcohol transfer, watercolor crayon, photography, digital on Rice Paper, mounted on wood panel.
06/03/2024
Duet I (Great Egret with a Bird of Paradise flower) Another recent piece that will be in the Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit in Watsonville, CA, March 20 - May 5, 2024.
8” x10,” Distressed alcohol transfer, watercolor crayon, collage, photography, digital, on Rives Lightweight paper mounted on wood panel.
Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit in Watsonville, CA, March 20 - May 5, 2024. Pajaro Valley Arts, 37 Sudden St., Watsonville. Opening reception: Sunday, March 24, 2 - 4PM. Exhibit hours: W- Sun 11 - 4.
03/03/2024
“Harmony,” the ghost print of “Rondo.” Dropped off this piece and 6 others today for the Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit in Watsonville, CA, March 20 - May 5, 2024. Scroll to see two process photos.
A ghost print is a second, lighter impression made from one inked-up plate. Monotype on Arnhem 1618 with additional ink layers and posca pen, 10” x 8” mounted on wood panel.
27/02/2024
“Rondo”– One of several new pieces that will be in the Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit in Watsonville, CA, March 20 - May 5, 2024. Scroll to see a couple of process photos.
Trying out Arnhem 1618 paper after seeing a video by Susan Rostow, who developed Akua Inks. This paper really does work well with . The metallic gold ink sparkles. I have mostly used Rives BFK in the past.
“Rondo,” monotype: recycled tetrapak plates (fish), on Arnhem 1618 paper, posca pen, 10” x 8”.
02/02/2024
Look, I’m the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! My 65th birthday present, a day early! I knew I was entering the “golden” years but didn’t know it would start like this. Some might argue that the end of this rainbow is actually the Giant Dipper , but it’s close enough for me!
My dream is to be like Richard Mayhew and still be going strong making art when I’m 100! Thanks to Shelby for curating Richard’s recent California exhibits, including Inner Terrain (Feb. 1- May 12), and to for those wonderful photos of Richard’s studio.
Rainbow photos were taken in the brief break between the morning storms , 2.1.24. Richard Mayhew's painting "Rhapsody" at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, March 2019.
29/01/2024
I visited “The Curious World of Seaweed” – a photography exhibit by Josie Iselin at of Natural History. Beautiful and so informative! I didn’t realize that kelp aren’t plants, they’re algae! A few pages of Julie Packard’s 1973 UCSC kelp herbarium are also on display (the origins of ‘s logo?). The exhibit is up until March 3, but if you can’t see it in person, images and info is ‘s website.
Our wonderful little Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History was founded in 1905 based on collections by lighthouse keeper and naturalist Laura Hecox.
https://explore.beatymuseum.ubc.ca/curious-world/
https://www.santacruzmuseum.org/exhibits/
21/12/2023
Happy Solstice!
My favorite time of year!
A piece from the archives. I printed this by hand many years ago. “Gathering Light” Monotype, chine collé, 18”x24” 2001
Light is Returning, a beautiful song for the season by Charlie King:
Light is returning, Even though this is the darkest hour, No one can hold back the dawn. Let’s keep it burning. Let’s keep the light of hope alive. Make safe our journey through the storm. One planet is turning. Circle on her path around the sun. Earth mother is calling her children home.
Listen and sing along to this wonderful version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARA-wOaVW0s&t=122s
Visit my website SHOP
20/12/2023
I was running to the beach the other day when my phone accidentally (or on purpose?) took this series of photos while it was inside my f***y pack. I rather like the tones turning from dark toward light, just as the solstice will soon begin to turn our short dark days toward lighter and longer ones.
To Go in the Dark,
a poem by Wendell Berry:
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
And find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.
18/12/2023
Award for the best dressed Starfish! Don’t these critters look festive? If I only had a brain... I just learned that a starfish turns its stomach inside out to eat and they hunt without eyes or a brain! I took this photo at a tidepool in Santa Cruz, CA in March. Now, try to get the song “If I only had a brain” out of your head!
More accurately, they are known as Sea Stars, since they are not actually fish. Starfish and urchins move along by using their 'tube feet'. Instead of eyes or brains, echinoderms (means “spiny skin”) have a network of sensory organs that help them smell their way around the ocean. Sea stars have a light-sensitive dot at the end of each arm called eyespots.
“Starfish are echinoderms, related to sea urchins and sea cucumbers. When exposed at low tide a starfish will be inactive, but if it is picked up and turned over, it is frequently possible to see what it has been eating. A starfish feeds on such animals as mussels and snails by everting its stomach, or turning it inside out, through its mouth and into the shell of the prey. Digestion takes place outside the starfish’s body. They have the ability to regenerate in order to regrow injured or lost body parts."
More about starfish and sea urchins:
https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/nature/starfish-sea-urchin.htm
https://www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk/blog/five-fascinating-facts-about-echinoderms-mon-01032021-1100
03/12/2023
Drumroll… The news you’ve all been waiting for! I’ve updated my Website and Shop: Anita Heckman Fine Art. I invite you to view my recent work: originals, giclée reproductions, tiles and lots of cards.
Thanks so much for supporting local artists and small businesses!
https://www.anitaheckman.com/
https://www.anitaheckman.com/all-art-for-sale
Thanks to all who came to my Open Studio last weekend!! My studio ( #155) is open for Encore Weekend 11-5, Saturday & Sunday Oct. 21 & 22. Here's a video about my most recent piece - Lost Constellations. Of course, the actual process is much more involved!
In addition to the recycled tetrapak pieces for Lost Constellations, I used a plate from my favorite chocolate hazelnut cake at our nearby for the hot air balloon (globus aerostaticus).
Did you know there are a bunch of constellations that are no longer recognized? Among them: Argo Navis (the ship), Noctua - little owl, the giant swallow, Hippocampus (seahorse) globus aerostaticus (hot air balloon), quadrus muralis, lilium, triangulum, pyxis (mariner's compass), and a rose. The current 88 northern constellations were established in 1922 by the International Astronomical Union to make a universal pattern for astronomers.
“Lost Constellations” is part of my Constellation series. Monotype, collage, chine collé, tetrapak drypoint. 12.75" x 16.625"
Thanks to for the cake plate idea. That’s what I love about Instagram: I have found and learned from so many amazing artists around the world including .minouette
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13/10/2023
Looks like we'll luck out on the weather this weekend! Come on by my Open Studio #155, October 14 – 15 & 21-22, 11Am - 5PM.
Visit the Preview Exhibit .org . You can search a complete list of artists at santacruzopenstudios.com
No catalog, no problem: download the Open Studios APP from the Apple Store or Google Play.
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05/10/2023
Save the dates. Come and bring your friends! Art truly is best enjoyed in real life! Many small wonders await. (And it’s a small wonder that I have actually finished several new pieces!) Something for everyone: constellations, birds, moths, waterlilies, patterns; originals, tiles, cards and more!
Anita Heckman’s Open Studio #155, October 14 – 15 & 21-22. Visit the Preview Exhibit .org . You can search a complete list of artists at santacruzopenstudios.com
No catalog, no problem: download the Open Studios APP from the Apple Store or Google Play.
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Happy Fall to all! How long does it take for a Quail family to cross the road (or sidewalk?) Dad’s out first, then mom, and the cute little chicks just keep coming! How many chicks do you count?
"Equinox," sold long ago, is a monotype with chine collé, 2010. Quail video - June, 2023 .
These days everything I see reminds me of constellations! Here’s my most recent monotype: “Tulip Constellation.” When I visited my daughter in Washington state in May, I saw tulips blooming everywhere, including near South Lake Union in Seattle.
Monotype and collage with Akua ink on BFK Rives, then mounted on Arches 300 # watercolor paper, 12.5" x 16"
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11/08/2023
In June I saw a most beautiful cactus flower, “Flying Saucer,” on the way to Seabright beach, and was inspired to make this mixed media piece. The flowers only last for one day, so I was lucky to see this one in full bloom. The name Flying Saucer fits in perfectly with my recent Constellation series. I assume it got its name because it’s out of this world beautiful. Such an amazing large bloom on such a prickly cactus!
I added what could be the Flying Saucer’s home planet, some Santa Cruz county moths (Arachnis Picta and a Ceonothus Silk moth) because moths are attracted to light (and UFOs??) and an Anna’s hummingbird, because I love hummingbirds and saw one nearby the same day. Hummingbirds are attracted to this flower, just like I was!
"Flying Saucer", 12” x 12” on BFK Rives paper. Combination of alcohol image transfers, distressed/scratching into inkjet transparencies (background, bottom cactus, hummingbird body) which was then transferred to paper, collage, and recycled tetrapak drypoints (moths).
06/07/2023
Delivering 3 of my monotypes today to the California Printmakers: Tradition and Innovation exhibit from July 22 – August 27, 2023.
The goal of the exhibit is to highlight and exhibit the best in recent California printmaking and to feature a wide range of printmaking techniques, from traditional processes to more experimental methods. Jurors are Yuzo Nakano and Kazuko Watanabe.
Aquarius
Pisces II
Rio Frio – American Pygmy Kingfisher
California Printmakers: Tradition and Innovation
Arts Benicia
1 Commandant’s Lane
Benicia, CA 94510
Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 1-5 pm
Here's the horizontal version- Pisces II, another recent monotype in my Constellations series.
Pisces is associated with the Greek legend that Aphrodite and her son Eros either shape-shifted into forms of fishes to escape, or were rescued by two fishes. Another tale claims an egg rolled into the Euphrates, and some fishes nudged this to shore, after which the doves sat on the egg until Aphrodite (thereafter called the Syrian Goddess) hatched out of it. The fishes were rewarded by being placed in the skies as a constellation.
Some consider the constellation to represent koi fish. For the Japanese, koi symbolize love and friendship, since the word “koi” is a homophone for another word that means “love” or “affection.”
A monotype that combines multiple recycled tetrapak drypoints, lasercut woodcuts, collage and chine collé.
Pisces II will be available for purchase in Mid-August through my FB and Instagram shops as well as through my website - https://www.anitaheckman.com/
Happy Summer Solstice!
I’m just a shadow of my former self: my long winter solstice shadow on 12.21.22, 1:22pm at Marina State Beach, CA. Usually I’m gradually shrinking, but here I appear about 10 feet tall! My hand seems so small and far away!
The word solstice translates to “sun stands still.”
The summer solstice is also called the estival solstice or midsummer. After the solstice, the Sun appears to reverse course and head back in the opposite direction. Over the year, its path forms a sort of flattened figure eight, called an analemma.
The solstice happens at the exact same moment for everyone on the planet, corresponding to the instant the North Pole is aimed farthest away from the sun on the 23.5° tilt of the Earth’s axis.
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