Bonnie Heenan

Oils

164 Sycamore Dr.
Gassville, AR 72635
870-430-2056 (home)
artista43@centurytel.net

Directions: From the traffic light on AR62B at the NW corner of the Mountain Home square, turn onto AR178/West Road. Travel 5.2 miles to the intersection of AR126. Turn right for 0.2 mile to the first left, BC9/Monkey Run Road. Travel 1.8 miles and turn right onto Sycamore Dr., a well- maintained dirt road. Turn into the second lane on your left, through the open green gate, and to the white house. Studio is inside the house.

Biography
For Bonnie Heenan, form is the essence of beauty. This love of form is not only the inspiration for all of her work, it is the driving force behind her passion for creating portraits. “It is so fulfilling to accomplish portraits,” Heenan says. “It’s almost like giving birth when I put the sparkle into their eyes.” Whether in the posture of a tree or in the shape of her grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s faces, Heenan loves to study and re-create forms of all shapes and sizes.

After graduating from Mountain Home High School and marrying husband John, Heenan moved off to Kansas City, MO, where she raised two daughters and earned an Associate’s Degree at Longview College in Lee’s Summit, MO. Later, she studied under some of the best instructors in the Midwest and seized an opportunity to study in France. “In 1981, I took courses in Paris, France,” she says. “I was able to return to Paris, with a grandson as my chaperone, in 1998.”

Now an art teacher herself, Heenan has worked in every medium but has recently returned to her original love, pencils. “I began with pencils, and then learned every medium, and loved them,” says Heenan. “But I have come full circle. Now when I begin a piece, I think carefully about which medium would work best for each piece.” Heenan thrives on portrait commissions and often works from photographs to complete her work.