Theresa Higby Fine Art

Theresa Higby

Mesa, AZ - United States

I am primarily self-taught artist who was born, raised and still resides in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. As a child my mother says I was know for hiding behind doors so that I could draw on the wall behind without being seen. Funny thing is, I was never scolded. Instead I was encouraged to use my talent on other materials. So I pursued drawing and painting, sometimes using only the pencil handouts and paper left overs she could scrounge. My father would bring home rolls of butcher paper from his job at a local meat packing plant so that I had something to draw on. One of my greatest thrills as a child was to visit an artist who was painting a giant mural on the entire building at that same plant.

As I high school school senior I was only student in my school of approximately 2100 students registered in Art 4. I spent those four years under the tutilage of Joseph Gatti, the schools only art teacher and a gifted artist himself. After high school I worked in many mediums teaching myself through trial and error and through what I would read in periodicals and 'how-to' books.

Through the development of my own style I came to favor watercolor and oils.

The subject matter tends to determine the medium I use. In landscapes I prefer oils, with animals I prefer watercolor.

I continues to experiment with different subjects and different effects. With one of my more recent watercolor paintings I wanted to create a sense of brilliance in the subject. 'Tidings of Great Joy' allowed me to experiment with a watercolor scrubbing technique and resulted in one of my favorite pieces.

I truly enjoy creating portraits for her clients to cherish for years to come. It's always fun to place a subject in a setting other than the norm. I look forward to seeing what I client might envision for their portrait.