A love for the Gulf Coast and its alluring spirit informs the serene work of Naples artist Amy Moglia Heuerman.
Text LUIS R. RIGUAL
“I vacationed in the area for years and slowly fell in love with it,” says the former books and puzzles illustrator. “The Gulf of Mexico waters can be as a calm as a lake or as alive as the Atlantic Ocean with crashing waves. This region, with its romantic sunsets, can be so inspiring.”
Those temperamental waters and vibrant sunsets are the themes of many of Heuerman’s acrylic-on-canvas paintings, richly layered abstracts rendered with palette knives, scrapers, and brushes that evoke serenity and invite viewers to emotionally respond to the shapes and colors of clouds and rolling tides.
“I don’t paint from a picture, but from my imagination and my memories,” says Heuerman about her process, which usually involves five or seven hours a day in her studio. “The images are in my subconscious, and I have to get them out.”
Above: “Inspiration comes from all my experiences,” says Naples artist Amy Moglia Heuerman. “I might be at a farmers’ market and instead of looking at the vegetables, I am looking at the way someone’s shirt colors are interacting. I am hyper aware all the time.”
Above: Crystal Clear aludes to the Gulf Coast’s fair-weather days.
As popular as they are, seascapes aren’t Heuerman’s only means of expression. The pandemic and its anxious uncertainty brought about a creative pivot in the form of The Girls, a series that alludes to the joys of childhood. “I went back to my inner five-year-old when I was protected, happy and carefree” she says. “That was my way of dealing with my Covid fear.”
Recent experimentation (this time out of curiosity) also yielded another series, as of yet untitled, featuring floral bouquets marked by saturation of color. “They were not initially floral paintings, but when standing at a distance, that’s what they became,” says Heuerman. “Your brain fills in the gaps and you see flowers.”
Above: Innocence, happiness, and joy are obvious themes in Crossroads, a painting from Heuerman’s The Girls series.
Above: Sunshine and turquoise waters inspired the yellow-drenched Parachutes.
As for what’s next, Heuerman hopes to continue exploring bolder brushstrokes and colors in a new series of abstracts. “That takes more guts from me, but I love the process of learning, growing and reaching,” she say. “The feeling when I’ve nailed a painting that was scary to do is an adrenaline rush like no other.”
Above: “Drama Queen was about capturing energy,” says Heuerman. “It’s big, bold, and strong.”
Above: “I can just imagine these flowers having a dance party when the lights go out and no one is watching,” says Heuerman about Dancing in the Dark, part of a recent series dedicated to floral bouquets.
