Bio & Statement
Bio
Kathleen Heitmann is an American painter who came to art later in life and found a place that felt familiar the moment she stepped into it.
She did not begin her career in a studio. She arrived at painting through years of raising a family, working, and growing into the person who could finally hear her own voice. When she began to paint, it felt like returning to something she had carried quietly for years.
Her paintings carry atmosphere, memory, and a sense of personal truth. Her process is built on listening rather than forcing. She allows each piece to unfold through soft shifts in color and light. This approach has shaped a style that feels grounded, sincere, and connected to what is honest.
Collectors throughout the Chicago area and beyond are drawn to the calm strength in her work. They describe her paintings as steady, reflective, and deeply felt. Kathleen’s work invites the viewer to pause and sense something quiet and real.
She lives and works in the Chicago area, where she continues to build a body of work shaped by clarity, intention, and emotional depth.
Artist Statement
My paintings rise from an inner place where emotion turns into movement. I begin with feeling rather than subject, and I let the work unfold in its own time. I follow the soft changes in light and shadow until the surface settles and finds its own gravity. I use atmosphere to hold memory, softness, and truth.
I work with restraint and intention. I leave room for quiet so the painting can breathe. Every mark has a purpose. If something does not serve the heart of the piece, I take it away. I trust the balance between strong movement and gentle stillness. That tension is where the work finds its voice.
My paintings explore the emotional weather of being human. They hold moments of stillness, release, and change. I want the viewer to slow down and feel something real. Not something explained. Something sensed. Something remembered.
Past Events
Exhibitions
Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists (CAVA) Member Exhibition
CAVA Inspired Stories Juried Exhibition, Dwell Gallery (Chicago)
CAVA Happiness Juried Exhibition, Bridgeport Art -Center (Chicago) -- Honorable Mention Award
The Art Center of Highland Park InView Member Exhibition
Oak Park Art Center Semi-Annual Juried Exhibition
Oak Park Art Center Eyes Wide Open Juried Exhibition
North Shore Art League -Member Exhibition
Robert T. Wright Gallery - College of Lake County Recent Works Juried Exhibition (Grayslake IL)
Norris Cultural Arts Center Juried Vicinity Exhibition (St Charles IL)
Featured Artist / Solo Exhibitions
Evanston Made Members Show, Tremaine Art (Evanston IL)
Central Station Gallery (Wilmette IL)
North Shore Plant Perfect Design (Winnetka IL)
Music Conservatory of Illinois Art Gallery (Evanston IL)
Winnetka Art Attack!!
‘the gallery’ (Skokie IL)
Distinctions
Podcast Guest | Sergio Gomez: From Empty Nest to Thriving Artist
Honorable Mention CAVA Happiness Show
Blue Moon Gallery, Grayslake, IL, Collective Artist
8 Collections including:
Chasing Chroma, Chromatic Elixirs, Chromatic Rhapsody, The Quest to Happiness, A Brushstroke’s Journey, Celestial Dream Dance, When Hues Whisper, Soulful Spectrum