About Artist Patty Hebiel

Through my paintings, I translate the landscape and deep space into scenes that explore new territory, not only in the subject matter but in the creative process. I have always been curious and fascinated by science, art and technology; my first career was as a chemist.  I believe it's important for me to continually cultivate my sense of wonder and educate myself on the world we live in and the spaces beyond our reach. Each painting is an experiment, either in the materials, subject, application or presentation. You could call my approach expressive realism.

I have just completed a series based on images from the Hubble space telescope where you can visually experience the thought provoking nebulae, galaxies, stars and planet systems of our universe. These deep space paintings can be seen on my astronomy website.Currently I'm creating new abstracts with heavy textures of papers and other mixed media.  The complex surfaces have considerable tactile qualities and creates a greater illusion of color depth than many other paint applications.

ABOUT THE ART
Working from a combination of plein air, memory and multiple reference photos, I create an image that captures the attributes that initially caught my attention. Using a brush, palette knife, sponge, rag, fingers, sticks and other tools, I apply medium, paint, glass, semi-precious metals and stones, papers and other archival materials to hardboard panel (Masonite) or stretched canvas.

Paintings are created in a variety of sizes in both oil and acrylic paints. Before calling a painting ready for show or sale, it first needs to be technically sound and most importantly, it needs to engage you, the viewer. Questions I need to answer are; is it something I want to keep looking at, is it a place I want to experience and does it make a strong connection?