My recent work is based on memories. Gardens, fields laden with blooms and the millions of flower photos I’ve taken float through as I paint. Some of my earliest memories are of planting and picking flowers with my grandmother in the garden on Poplar Street in Halifax. These paintings are also an exploration of line, defining the colour fields using a stick found in the garden and dipped in paint. As I draw over the colour surface the unpredictability of the stick brings new possibilities to the image. This is very much a living process, like the unfolding of a flower.
Biography
Heather is a graduate of NSCAD. Her studies included painting, drawing, weaving and textiles and Art Education. Upon graduation she taught Art part time at the Sacred Heart School in Halifax and with the Halifax City Regional School Board as a substitute teacher. She also taught weekly “night classes“ through NSCAD Continuing Education Department where many of the students became her friends. When she began teaching Painting at NSCAD in the fall of 1999 she felt like she had come home. During the years as an instructor Heather taught Introductory Painting 2000 as well as Figure Painting, Drawing and Figure Drawing.
As a practicing artist Heather works daily in her studio. Her painting has evolved from representational to semi abstract. Exploration and risk taking are important in maintaining an exciting edge. She has exhibited in Canada and has work in private and public collections.
Timeline
Born in Halifax
1983: Graduated B.F.A, B.Ed., NSCAD University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
1985 – 1989: Art Teacher, Sacred Heart School, Halifax
1990 – 1996: Part-time teaching with Halifax City School Board
1986 – 2016: Instructor, Department of Continuing Education, NSCAD University
1999 – 2017: Instructor, Fine Art Department, NSCAD University
2012 – present: Instructor, Chester Art Centre, Chester, Nova Scotia
Galleries
Heather Sayeau’s work is available through the following galleries:
Secord Gallery, Halifax NS
Trinity Galleries, Saint John NB
Teichart Gallery, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax NS