Heather McKey is a traditional acrylic painter, depicting imaginary birdlife and sea creatures with unexpected and striking features.

 

Her fanciful creations are embellished with a variety of shells and botanicals intermingled with feathers and patterns borrowed from nature. Strange and familiar at the same time, they are playful and exotic as they strike a pose in their world of dreamy landscapes and seascapes. Viewers enjoy a sense of warmth and wonder and soulful intrigue as the creatures peer back through their large, expressive eyes.

​​

Thoughtfully planned and painted with sensitive detail, the natural grain of the wood surface underneath each painting influences the overall design and direction of the details. 

​

From the onset of her debut solo gallery show with Distinction Gallery, collectors now enjoy her paintings in their homes across the world. Heather makes her own home in the quiet mountains of San Diego County with her husband and young children.

​

_____

​

Education
ART MENTORSHIP WITH JUDY NACHAZEL, 1991-2001
Ramona, California

PALOMAR COLLEGE, FINE ART AND ILLUSTRATION, 2000-2007
San Marcos, California

ART MENTORSHIP WITH CHRISTOPHER POLENTZ, 2003-2009
San Diego, California

Exhibitions
The Olde Ramona Hotel Gallery, 2003
Gallery 97/Back Door Gallery, 2008
San Diego County Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, 2009
Gallery 97/Back Door Gallery, 2009
The Olde Ramona Hotel Gallery, 2009
San Diego County Fair Fine Arts Exhibit, 2010 & 2011
CPSA Explore This! 8 Online International Exhibit, 2012 - 2013
Main Street Gallery 5, 2012

​One Plus Six Equals Seven, Distinction Gallery, 2013

​San Diego County Fair Fine Arts Exhibit, 2013

​Animal Fairy Tales, Fables, Fact or Fiction, Las Laguna Art Gallery, 2013

​10th Anniversary Show, Distinction Gallery, 2014

​CPSA Explore This! 10 Online International Exhibit, 2014 - 2015

​Wonderbirds, Solo Show Debut, Distinction Gallery, 2014

​CPSA Explore This! 11 Online International Exhibit, 2015 - 2016

​One On One, Sparks Gallery, 2015

​Prints On Wood Show, Distinction Gallery, 2015

​LA Art Show, Distinction Gallery Booth, 2016

​Natural Beauty, Solo Show, Distinction Gallery, 2017

​Natural Histories VI, Antler Gallery, 2017

​Pigments of Imagination, Joint show, Distinction Gallery, 2019

Awards
The Olde Ramona Hotel Gallery | 3rd Place
San Diego County Fair | Fine Arts Exhibition, Honorable Mention, People’s Choice Award
San Diego County Fair | Fine Arts Exhibition, 2nd Place, Honorable Mention, People’s Choice Award
San Diego County Fair | Fine Arts Exhibition, Honorable Mention

Colored Pencil Society of America |CPX Signature Status Award

​

Publications

To The Point CPSA magazine issues, 2013, 2015 & 2016

Enchanted, Out of Steps Books, 2016