Member - Becky Heavner |
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SUCCESS WITH STYLE Meet Becky Heavner, an illustrator who has been a member of the Del Ray Artisans (DRA) since its first year in 1992. As a homeowner in the Del Ray neighborhood, one of the first memorable DRA events she and husband/illustrator Bryan Leister attended was a presentation made by members Bob Larson and Marlin Lord on architecture in the neighborhood. Becky has succeeded in doing what many artists dream: Being a successful self-employed illustrator. Immediately upon graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University's Communication Arts program in 1985, she set up shop as a freelance illustrator and started on a path that has led to national exposure through magazines, posters, and packaging. Readers of Susan Ban Breathnach's bestseller Simple Abundance may recognize Becky's distinctive style on the book's companion datebooks for 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. Becky considers them among her proudest achievements, though her husband definitely considers her invitation to the White House the pinnacle. (A poster Becky created to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Women's Bureau was displayed at the White House, along with those designed by 6 other artists hand-selected nationwide. During the reception with then-President Bill Clinton and Mrs Clinton, Mrs Clinton confided to the art director that she liked Becky's poster best!) At present, Becky is excited about her latest project, illustrating roughly a dozen labels for a collection of sauces for Santa Barbara Salsa. This spring, Whole Body, a division of Whole Food/Fresh Fields, opened a Manhattan location with Becky's illustrations used as architectural elements on the building as well as decorative elements on tiles, signage and packaging. Becky describes her style as "whimsical fluid brushwork with the organic feel of nature." An earlier style was thick with paint but she was concerned that clients like The Washington Post would have difficulty reproducing the illustrations, so she started to focus more on black linework and flat colors. Influenced by the black & white linework of the Art Deco period, her style has evolved over the years to accommodate the convenience of being digital while retaining its handtooled scratchboard look. A terrific way to see Becky's work is on her website, www.beckyheavner.com. In addition to postcard mailings and ads she places in sourcebooks and the like, she is getting a lot of work through the website. It is a convenient way for clients to browse through her portfolio and familiarize themselves with her style. Of course, if you have been to any of Del Ray's "Art on the Avenue" festivities, it's Becky's wonderful illustrations that appear on the publicity posters around town. And her images have adorned several of DRA's T-shirts, including its very first shirt that will be reissued in 2002 to celebrate DRA's 10th anniversary.
Unauthorized use of images is
prohibited without artisans written expressed permission.
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