Heather J Chontos
Marvao, Portugal
Website
www.heatherchontos.com
Instagram
hchontos
How would you describe your work?
My work is abstract, but I find that that is an oversimplification of it. I find that through my searching for worn and previously used materials to incorporate into my work that I have elements of Folk Art, of storytelling through emotion and color, that maybe could then be classified as Abstract Folk art? If it must be given a name, that is what I would I choose.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by light, by nature, by emotion, by need and desire to create.
Can you speak about your process?
My process is intuitive and driven by strong internal impulse.
I do not use brushes. I like to use fine, hard edged plastic cards , to apply paint to my surface. It is a more direct application for me with better control of texture and saturation of color to whatever surface I am working on. I also really love working with oil sticks, not pastels, oil pigment sticks, they are now always a feature in my work. I like to work as directly as possible with my materials, sometimes just using my fingers. It is a physical process for me and brushes feel like they get in my way.
How did you become interested in art?
I can’t remember, it was truly always a part of everything in my life, from my earliest memories. It feels like it is one of my limbs, it has always been attached to me.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books, or quotes?
One of the best books ever written, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer this quote keeps me close to my self, close to the Earth. “The land knows you, even when you are lost.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Any more thoughts about art, creativity, or anything else you would like to share?
These past two months I have felt very deeply a disconnect to the human world around me because it has been such a disappointment to witness another violent story. It is such a shame that humans are so good at destroying one another with the ease of using force. I hope for the sake of us all and for the future of humanity, that we can find light in one another, and that the great force of love will find its way to overpower all of the darkness i the hatred that is circulating.
