gradyrule / Heather rule grady

I cannot remember a time when I didn't draw or paint. I still have a doodle started in middle school that I filled in over the years and pencil drawings from high school; watercolors and drawings, pen and ink and sketches from college and grad school. I was kicked off a confessional at Santa Maria del Popolo because the priest needed to start confession but I was not quite done drawing . . . sketching “El Angel Caido” and writing My Spanish Sucks because a lovely man with his son stopped to take photos of me but I could not converse. . . I never should have taken a years long break from creating.

I love art. I love learning about art and artists and detailing the world around me and dreaming about what could be. Sometimes images pop into my head or something swirls around in there and just needs to get out and find its voice.

It took a changing political climate to churn the juices that produced 26 sketches over 8 months featuring things I wanted to protect, things I was (and am) concerned are being attacked, taken away or diminished by those who do not understand their value. It took a phenomenal husband and partner who let me know it was time to paint the ideas and share them. And, he told me, I should share some other things, too. The passion has always been within, but the time, the ability to put myself out there, . . . needed a push.

My style is built layer upon layer - building up the paint from broad strokes to, often, fine detail. My pieces look different in a photo than in person. My subjects come off the canvas a bit when seen up close.

I may not change the world, but I hope I bring something to those who view my work, be it motivation, joy, comfort, anger, hope, love, or any other myriad of emotions our being human allows us to be.