Interview with Heather McFarlin

Heather McFarlin grew up in Northern California, and began drawing and painting at an early age. She went on to study Religious Studies, Psychology, and Art Studio at California State University, Chico. Driven by a desire to understand and affect change in the body and mind, she answered a calling to pursue a career in the Healing Arts, studying Taoism, Applied Qigong, Chinese Medicine, Yoga, and Intuition Medicine. After a successful healing practice for 25 years, she has now transitioned to creating art full time since February, 2022.

She considers painting and her knowledge of the Healing Arts to go hand in hand, as one informs and inspires the other. For her, painting and the creative process serves as a structure for the mind to inquire, reflect, honor, understand and find meaning from a deeper level than the rational mind will go, thus accessing the subconscious mind. She currently uses multiple layers of oil paint and allows for the composition to unfold naturally, inviting creative musings and celebrating ‘mistakes’, energetic marks, drips, and texture to further express the emotional and energetic landscape being presented to her.

Heather is greatly inspired by Mark Rothko, who happened to coincidentally die the day she was born, February 25, 1970. “Rothko painted to plumb the depths of himself and the human condition. For him, art was a profound form of communication, and art making was a moral act.” ~Karen Kedmey

Heather’s work has been shown throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and collected in Canada, the United States and Australia. Her work was featured on the set of SENSE8, and she is a featured artist with Saatchi Art, Singular Art and Vogue UK. She especially loves bringing people together by way of local exhibitions and the monthly Art Bazaar at her studio in Mill Valley, California.

How would you describe yourself and your artwork?

I am inspired by things that possess knowledge, wisdom and beauty, for example, Taoism, Yogic Philosophy, higher states of consciousness, art, music and of course, cats.

 I have been a lifelong student and practitioner of Taoist healing modalities, Intuition Medicine©, and mysticism. I answered a calling to assist others and had a private practice as a hands-on healer for 25 years.  I believe my paintings to be an extension of this love of the sacred and desire for transformation.

 My work often has images that emerge and then fade, depending on the light or a persons’ mental state, ideally engaging their own heart and mind. I like to think of the colors I use as empowering others to feel more, and celebrating the full spectrum of emotions. I believe the emotional or energy body is the most powerful part of human existence and holds a lot of creative power if you learn to harness it.

 How do you go about beginning a new piece? Do you have an idea already in mind, or do you start working with materials or sketches to find the departure point?

I don’t start with a preconceived composition, but instead simply with an idea or feeling, and begin working with broad, loose brush strokes with saturated colors right from the tube.  I have a lot of fun seeing what comes through without using my rational mind. However, if I’m doing a specific subject like the landscape series I’m currently working on, I will have to first photograph what I want to paint and then use that as a reference and start by blocking out shapes right away.

 I also like to look at work from some of my favorite artists for inspiration, color combinations and different perspectives. Right now it's Rothko, Josef Albers, Matthew Wong and Milton Avery.

When do you think your most prolific time of day or week is?

Tuesday through Friday are my focused and prolific days. I paint only during the daylight hours because my studio is a converted greenhouse and I rely almost entirely on natural light. Afternoons feel like I’m deep into the work and feel the most satisfying. It’s really hard to put down the brush and I might paint into the night if I had proper lighting! But I have always had an art studio that is somewhat steeped in the elements. Before Studio 16 (the name of my current space), it was in my carport in Sausalito, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. So I’ve been in sync with and reliant on the natural cycles of light for many years.

 What is a barrier you as an artist overcame? Is there anything that enabled you to develop your work as an artist in your life?

Cultivating the patience required to make a name for myself has been challenging. It’s one thing if you are happy just painting, but to get on the map as an emerging or professional artist takes a lot of patience, persistence and hard work.

I was lucky enough to simultaneously build a successful business so I could  set my own schedule, and that enabled me to spend more time in the studio, but it never seemed like enough and I always wanted more.

Did you have an idea of what you wanted to create right from the beginning?

As a very young artist, I used to take my mom’s giclee pictures off the wall and sign my name on them when she wasn’t looking,  so I guess I did know I wanted to be a professional artist from a young age!  

 It wasn’t until 2008 that my artistic style emerged almost suddenly after a series of Craniosacral Therapy sessions.  Something shifted and I began doing abstract-surrealism paintings just using my intuition, and almost overnight my own ‘style’ was born.  I had my first show in 2009 and began selling, and could start to visualize my path going forward.

 What is the meaning or creative inspiration for your work? We’re curious what the narrative or story is to what you are producing?

I had a very gifted Intuitive once  tell me that my paintings are like creating fantasies or a different reality from the trenches; like a way to survive extremely hard times. 

 I have many stories from my childhood that are uncomfortable to tell, and they are in my paintings. The interesting part is that people often remark that my work is so happy.  But  I work things out through my creative process. It’s making the dark or traumatized parts of myself seen, or hanging out with them and incorporating them into the narrative of the painting, that makes me more whole. I think there are energetic imprints of my healing journey in my work and people respond to the paintings that resonate for them. 

 Art can be like flower essences, which is a liquid containing the vibrational energy of a flower, and used for healing. I do think a painting can contain the vibrational energy of healing and raise the frequency of a space.

 Besides your artworks, are there any other things in life that your voice as an artist may consider vital or valuable? What makes you joyful and creative, in other words?

I think life is sacred and wouldn’t it be great if humanity could focus on the magic that exists instead of things like greed, division, war, etc. That’s where art, music, healing, and ancient teachings come in; knowing how to drop into the present moment and appreciate how magical life can be is where it’s at for me!

 Are there any exhibitions or places where people can see these beautiful creations in person soon? Anything on the horizon?

 I’m currently in VOGUE UK’s Gallery of visual artists. I’m part of an artist collective in the SF Bay Area and we have a monthly Art Bazaar, which is advertised on my instagram page @heather_mcfarlin_art. I don’t have any scheduled exhibitions right now but now that the world is opening back up, I’m hoping to in the near future. I have Los Angeles, Palm Springs and Oakland in mind.

Website: https://www.heathermcfarlinart.com