Heather MacKenzie is an artist who has an emotional link with her subjects. Her art has evolved over the years from representational to impressionism, where she uses watercolor pointillism to evoke ethereal images that dance with color.

Heather started painting at an early age in oil, with no formal training. Her grandmother opposed the smell associated with oils, so she took up watercolor in her teens, although she enjoys many mediums. She grew up in Chatham, Cape Cod, and went to Massachusetts College of Art on scholarship. Her philosophy is; “Life is a canvas, make everything art and make art out of everything.” At MassArt, she never took a painting class, although she was accepted to the fine arts division. Instead, she was drawn to photography and filmmaking. After graduating with a B.F.A. in cinematography, she moved to Los Angeles and worked in film, which landed her a position with the American Broadcasting Company. She became a camerawoman for the news and embarked on a fabulous career, traveling the world while documenting historical events. These are a few of the events she covered; the first Holocaust Reunion in Israel in 1980, President Reagan’s cross-country re-election campaign, the release of hostages from Iran, the Summer and Winter Olympics of ’84 and ’88, twenty five years of Academy Awards, the Oakland and Northridge earthquakes, Super Bowls, NFL and college games, both Dodger’s World Series, Romania’s orphans, O. J. Simpson’s criminal and civil trials, Princess Diana’s funeral and Michael Jackson’s court battles.

While working and traveling under a demanding schedule for ABC7, she also earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree, pulling a fulltime load of graduate courses in television and film, at the University of California, Los Angeles. Heather always found the time to paint and create with her photography. She launched many successful shows, from Hollywood to Chatham.

Ms. MacKenzie survived a serious threat to her health and decided to accept a buyout from Disney/ABC, Inc. in the summer of 2009. She moved with her husband to Cape Cod with the desire to concentrate on following her dreams of making a living as an artist. Heather is inspired by the Cape’s environment and wildlife.

Heather has won muliple prizes for her photography and art, conducts workshops at the Chatham Bars Inn and is working on writing a book about her life as an award-winning electronic-news-gathering camerawoman. She enjoys gardening, cooking, kayaking and water sports. She designed her home’s interior and has always transformed her environment as an expression of her artistic talents.

Heather loves impressionism, especially Monet, Cassatt, Manet and van Gogh. She finds inspiration in beauty and hopes her expressions give joy to those who own her paintings.