A Year In The Life

A new art show will chronicle one year of paintings by artist Heidi Carlsen-Rogers.

"Connecting the Dots," which opens July 18 at the STORY gallery at Grace Point Church in Bentonville, will show "a time of creative change and transition for me as an artist," Carlsen-Rogers says. A permanent installation by the artist was placed in the gallery in July 2013, and this show features about 15 paintings that highlight what went on in the studio throughout the year after the first piece was installed.

Carlsen-Rogers, 44, is an abstract painter who creates predominantly large-scale works. Her work is inspired by living close to a natural environment, which allows her to observe things that are living and changing. She says she sees trees as lines on her canvas and birds as fast brushstrokes.

"I feel like the initial marks that are on my canvas are kind of nature based," she says.

Carlsen-Rogers moved to Bella Vista from Chicago six years ago, and she has been working as a full-time artist since the move. She has always had an interest in art, but her parents encouraged her to get a college degree in advertising instead of art. She says she took as many art classes as she could in college and completed additional training after that.

She says the show is laid out in a way that tells a story.

"I think abstract art is sometimes challenging to look at, and I hope that they'll be able to see a different point of view and kind of a different perspective in the way that someone observes things."

-- Ashley Batchelor

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