Brent
Heighton has been painting for over 20 years fulltime. After college Brent began
a brief career in the commercial art field. Not satisfied with the deadlines,
the rush jobs, and working out other peoples ideas as to how they wanted things
to look, he realized that as difficult as working in the Fine Arts was, becoming
a painter of what you want and not what someone else wants, was the most
important and satisfying. He has never looked back on or regretted taking that
chance.
Working as a fulltime Artist has allowed Brent to travel all over the world in
search of ideas and things to paint. Brent has travelled with his family to
Europe, spending time in France, Holland, Belgium, and as far south as Greece.
All the time with paints and brushes in hand, always looking for that
inspiration just around the corner. The difference of light in a place like
Greece compared to Cornwall, England is very exciting says Brent.
During the last few years Brent has travelled to Mexico numerous times. The
Architecture, the people, and the light that keeps enticing Brent back there, “I
find Mexico helps my creative juices start to flow when I’m there and I love the
color of the light.” says Brent.
Brent’s watercolours and oils have been well received by many corporate and
private collectors in over 25 countries of the world. Brent has had exhibitions
in New York, Tokyo, Germany, Belgium, Holland, many parts of the U.S. and most
recently Cabo San lucas, Mexico.
His work has won him numerous awards throughout Canada and the U.S. But the
important thing is, as Brent points out is not the awards, it’s how it makes you
feel putting your feelings on paper or canvas so that the persons observing can
experience the joy you had in painting that particular artwork. “If you can make
that connection with someone it feels great inside,” he says.
Continuing to explore new ideas and approaches to painting, he is never happy to
stay in one place creatively. Just recently Brent has been asked by a large
wallpaper firm from the U.S. to design a wallpaper collection using his style of
painting. Working with the textile industry has opened new doors in
experimenting with texture and color that he has never thought of. And most
recently Brent has just returned from a trip to the Brandywine area of
Pennsylvania, home of Andrew Wyeth. “ It was a great experience to visit and
explore that area to feel what that man could say in his paintings.” Brent is
never happy to stay in one place creatively. And his work continues to grow and
mature as he pushes his creative boundaries.