Heidi Denessen has spent most of her life enjoying the natural playground that is Southern British Columbia. She was born in 1977 in the picturesque capital city of Victoria and grew up in West Vancouver. Heidi has since lived in Pemberton, Bowen Island, White Rock, and North Vancouver. As a child she grew up skiing on local mountains and exploring the islands of the Sunshine Coast, all the while nurturing a growing interest in creating art. In addition to art Heidi also enjoyed (and continues to enjoy) dancing, mountain biking, hiking, surfing, boating, playing ultimate and running.

As soon as she was finished with high school, Heidi set off to explore the world with a close girlfriend. They traveled for seven months through Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia, Africa and Europe. Heidi has continued to enjoy traveling through the years and has since spent time in Mexico and Peru in addition to revisiting Europe. Heidi returned from her post-secondary travels with an increased passion for art, and entered the Studio Art program at Capilano College before finishing her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Heidi has also received her Teacher Certification from Simon Fraser University and completed a 3-D Animation Summer Intensive course at Vanarts Institute.

In Heidi’s professional life she has been an art instructor for Pemberton Community Centre, Learning Through the Arts, and Island Pacific School; the owner and operator of Signline Signs & Promotional Products; a high school teacher at West Vancouver Senior Secondary School; and she helped to create a product that has since turned into a successful venture, Nanna Bags.

These days, Heidi can be found in North Vancouver where she lives with her husband, Ron, who is also an artist. Heidi and Ron continue to inspire each otherʼs work, even with the addition of two little boys – Oscar and Solomon. That she continues to find motivation for her art after long days of keeping up with the boys and changing diapers is a true testament to Heidiʼs love for her craft. When theyʼre not creating art, Heidi and Ron love to explore British Columbia with their boys by camping, skiing, or visiting the family cabin on Gambier Island.

Heidi’s art consists of mixed media on canvas or panel. Her images are inspired primarily by shapes and patterns found in her home and natural playground, Southern BC. Her style mixes bold, colourful paintings with detailed pencil drawings in a cut-and- paste style. Heidi regularly uses acrylic paint, oil paint, paper and graphite. She also works with oil pastel, pencil crayons, feathers, beads and conte.
Female, Born on June 21