Wildlife Art of Heather Soos

Inspired by nature, Heather creates original fine art paintings and scratchboards depicting wildlife.  She enjoys working in a realistic and detailed style, while also aiming to create something unique with the medium she is working in.

Primarily self-taught, Heather began painting birds in gouache in her early twenties after taking some post-secondary art courses.  She later discovered the versatility of acrylic paint and began painting with acrylic on hardboard.  This quickly became her favorite medium.  She has worked with acrylic for over 30 years, while trying other mediums. Heather has also completed artwork featuring subjects other than wildlife.  Among these are two major aviation paintings.

In the last few years, Heather has added oil paint and scratchboard to her repertoire of art mediums.  Working with scratchboard – an ink-coated clay board – involves using sharp tools to scratch black ink away to reveal the white clay beneath, creating a highly detailed black and white image.  Colour is then added to the image by brushing on coloured inks.

Travelling and living in different locations throughout Canada and abroad with her military husband – also a skilled amateur photographer – gave Heather many opportunities for artistic inspiration, discovering new wildlife and natural environments, as well as exhibiting her work internationally.

Heather has been the recipient of awards, including being named Ducks Unlimited Canada’s National Artist of the Year, in 2008.

She is a Signature Member of The Society of Animal Artists, an organization based in the United States that has a worldwide membership of highly skilled animal sculptors and painters.  Her art has been selected for inclusion in the Society’s International Annual Exhibition, ‘Art and the Animal’ several times.

Heather also exhibits in local events in the Comox Valley, where she resides.  She works at home in her studio.

Original paintings and scratchboards, as well as limited-edition prints, plaque-mounted prints and art cards featuring her work are available for purchase.