About Heather

Hi, I’m Heather Mollenhauer, a painter working with oil paint in my home studio in Toronto.

I believe the art we make is an accumulation of all the beauty we’ve seen and experienced throughout our lives - the places we’ve been, the things we’ve noticed, and the moments that have stayed with us. My work is inspired by nature, memory, and the feeling that certain colours, shapes, and places can evoke long after we’ve experienced them.

I’ve been lucky to live and travel in places surrounded by incredible nature, including Tofino, Salt Spring Island, and Australia. I’m endlessly inspired by the organic shapes, weathered surfaces, and changing colours of the natural world. Flowers and other organic forms find their way into my paintings as a way of holding onto some of that beauty and translating it into something of my own.

My process is intuitive and physical. I build layered backgrounds before painting flowers and organic forms onto a separate canvas, then press the two surfaces together. The paint transfers between them, creating an imprint that is partly controlled and partly left to chance. I love the unexpected marks, textures, and imperfections that come from this process - the parts of a painting that couldn’t have been planned.

For me, painting is a way of slowing down and paying attention. It’s a way of collecting the things that move me and making something from them. Ultimately, painting is how I come home to myself.

(My little dog's name is Rambo and he's the best)

If you have any questions or inquiries please email me at heathermollenhauerart@gmail.com