Mediums - Pastel

Artist's Statement -Heather L. O'Neil is a realism artist specializing in portraits. She clearly portrays the unique likeness of her subject through the use of soft pastels. O'Neil's most current body of work is based on her experience of living in the Democratic Republic of Congo for several months. Deeply affected by the desperate conditions there, she was moved to portray the emotion of her experience in the series entitled "Face of Congo". The series features large-scale, monochromatic faces of people she encountered.

Biography - Art has always been a subject of interest to O'Neil. Born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa, she began her study of art and photography in her teenage years. After graduating from high school, she assisted a free-lance photographer. Influenced by this experience, large-scale, monochromatic pastels based on photographs have proved the perfect combination of her interests. In 1997, she married and moved to New York. While living there, she began working as commissioned artist in 1999. Since then, she has been building her collection of work as well as clientele. In 2008, O’Neil returned to Dubuque. Over the years, O'Neil has spent extensive time in Africa, South America, Central America, and Europe with a camera in hand. She is now basing her artwork on the collection of images she captured.

Gallery Affiliations - Working as a commissioned artist since 1999, the artwork of Heather L. O'Neil is included in a number of private collections. List of collections is available upon request.

Exhibitions - Group Exhibitions March - October 2002 Blue Gallery, Saratoga Springs, New York March - May 2009 Dubuque Museum of Art 2009 Biennial Juried Exhibition Awards First Place Award - Dubuque Museum of Art 2009 Biennial Juried Exhibit Juror's Statement - "As a gallery owner, I tend to look for art that will sell. As a juror of an art exhibition I try to find out about the artist through their imagery. I looked for technical mechanics and true passion to select the winners, which wasn't an easy task..." Jurored by Michael Gerber, Gruen Galleries, Chicago Experience May 2009 Teacher of a series of 11 Drawing Classes for an after-school program. Employed by the Dubuque Arts Center.