About the Artist

Heather Ruttan is a multidisciplinary artist hailing from the picturesque city of North Vancouver working fulltime in the VFX industry. With her both acrylic landscapes, and digital illustrations focused on spiritual exploration, Heather weaves symbolism and meaning through her work.

She became known in the LDS art scene for her pioneering series, "Mother in the Desert," where Heather delved into the infrequently explored Mormon theology of the female counterpart to God the Father. Her thought-provoking and evocative artworks have garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated following. Heather’s work from this series has been included as illustrations in three books, with two pieces included in 2022 as part of a group gallery exhibition.

Heather recently returned to her roots on the west coast after seven years living in Montreal. Inspired by the breathtaking landscapes of both regions, she finds solace and inspiration in capturing the beauty of nature with her brushstrokes. Heather Ruttan's artistic journey takes her on an exploration of the spiritual and the profound, inviting viewers to contemplate the intricate connections between nature, spirituality, and the human experience.

When I returned to North Vancouver after living in Montreal for seven years, I found my Homeland was no longer my Home. Despite the beauty I knew surrounded me, I found myself adrift, searching for that elusive feeling of belonging. I wasn’t the same person and neither was the city, which led to an acute sense of displacement, eased only by my practice of landscape painting.

In embracing landscape of the region as both muse and metaphor, my paintings have been filled with nursery logs, new growth pushing through leaf litter, moss covered trees, rushing water carving the land, and winter barren branches. Examining the coexistence of life and death in the natural world is something that soothes and continues to inspire me.

I use acrylic paint for both pleinair and studio paintings, which lends an immediacy and focus to my work. The speed required to work wet in wet with acrylic paint requires me to stay engaged, and the limited workable time compels me to let go of my perfectionism. I find the restrictions of the medium help prompt me to be bold, committed and freer with my brush strokes.

At its core, my work examines the profound sense of solace and renewal that can be found in the act of creation and connection to the land we occupy. I have come home, first to the land, then to myself. The act of creation has become Ariadne’s red yarn, tethering me to my home on the other side of the labyrinth within. Now the land is my home, and painting is my touchstone.