Heather Blanton Painter
What drew you to painting the human form?
I am more about human energy and the will to excel in human spirit rather than human form.
What then led you to painting athletes?
A commission from a cyclist in 2013 whet my desire to convey the feeling of the peloton and then other sports from there.
Have you only several sports or are you continually adding more sports?
I am constantly adding new sports genres.
G.O.A.T Boxers 2025, Oil on Canvas
How much time do you need to take in watch each sport and the best technique of an athlete?
It depends on my knowledge of the sport. when a Boston bruins wife asked me to do a hockey piece I spent days researching.
Do you use a sketch book or photographs to get familiar with sports?
YouTube videos mostly
Discuss the difference in painting individual sports athletes to ones playing in teams.
My eye is always on the individual’s energy rather than a team dynamic.
Golfer Grid 36x36x1.5 inches. Acrylic on Canvas
What medium do you use?
Acrylics for health and drying times.
What sport do you play?
Currently none, but I played tennis and softball growing up.
Have you been commissioned to do a specific sport?
All the time. My latest commissions are F1 and a skier piece.
How do you get the feeling of movement – especially in mass groupings?
I don’t pre-plan the work I let it organically flow so it’s always a mystery revealing itself to me in the studio.
Skiers on Plexiglass 24×23.5×25 Inches
You comment, “… that you like to create the push and pull between abstraction and realism” discuss.
Correct proportions and photographic realism are not in my mind at all. I want the viewer to see it is a sport however I am inviting them to see it in a new energetically focused way.
Discuss the use of shadows in particular your skiers.
The shadows to me are part of my favourite things about the work. Although I don’t always include them, they are about the bright sun experienced out on the white powder. Distinct shadows mean a tremendous amount of blue skies and light!
How do you approach combining of sports, e.g., triathlons?
Triathlons I keep three canvases separately typically and do each sport individually. I am always trying to push myself to do intense sports like triathlons, hoping to convey the iron men and women’s shear power in human spirit.
Contact:
Heather Blanton
Deborah Blakeley, Melbourne, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, November 2025
Images on these pages are all rights reserved by Heather Blanton
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What drew you to painting the human form?
I am more about human energy and the will to excel in human spirit rather than human form.
What then led you to painting athletes?
A commission from a cyclist in 2013 whet my desire to convey the feeling of the peloton and then other sports from there.
Have you only several sports or are you continually adding more sports?
I am constantly adding new sports genres.
G.O.A.T Boxers 2025, Oil on Canvas
How much time do you need to take in watch each sport and the best technique of an athlete?
It depends on my knowledge of the sport. when a Boston bruins wife asked me to do a hockey piece I spent days researching.
Do you use a sketch book or photographs to get familiar with sports?
YouTube videos mostly
Discuss the difference in painting individual sports athletes to ones playing in teams.
My eye is always on the individual’s energy rather than a team dynamic.
Golfer Grid 36x36x1.5 inches. Acrylic on Canvas
What medium do you use?
Acrylics for health and drying times.
What sport do you play?
Currently none, but I played tennis and softball growing up.
Have you been commissioned to do a specific sport?
All the time. My latest commissions are F1 and a skier piece.
How do you get the feeling of movement – especially in mass groupings?
I don’t pre-plan the work I let it organically flow so it’s always a mystery revealing itself to me in the studio.
Skiers on Plexiglass 24×23.5×25 Inches
You comment, “… that you like to create the push and pull between abstraction and realism” discuss.
Correct proportions and photographic realism are not in my mind at all. I want the viewer to see it is a sport however I am inviting them to see it in a new energetically focused way.
Discuss the use of shadows in particular your skiers.
The shadows to me are part of my favourite things about the work. Although I don’t always include them, they are about the bright sun experienced out on the white powder. Distinct shadows mean a tremendous amount of blue skies and light!
How do you approach combining of sports, e.g., triathlons?
Triathlons I keep three canvases separately typically and do each sport individually. I am always trying to push myself to do intense sports like triathlons, hoping to convey the iron men and women’s shear power in human spirit.
Contact:
Heather Blanton
Deborah Blakeley, Melbourne, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, November 2025
Images on these pages are all rights reserved by Heather Blanton
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