About Me

My name is Heather and I am an award-winning watercolor artist located in my hometown of Columbus, OH.

Pretty dry and straight-forward, right?

For what it's worth, I never thought I would introduce myself like this.

After graduating from a teeny-tiny Christian high school here in Columbus, I went to The Ohio State University and got a bachelor's degree in Journalism.  Writing was always my art of choice and how I wanted to make my living.



But then I did some freelance writing for a year.  And I HATED it.  At least, I hated trying to make a living from it.  Burned out from my efforts, I returned to my bookkeeping job that I'd had during college, trying to regroup and figure out what was next.

Later that year, I bought an inexpensive watercolor kit for a niece's Christmas present.  And, a week later, I went back and bought another kit for myself.  Something about it had grabbed me, and I started flooding my Pinterest boards with watercolor pieces I found online.  Longing for a creative challenge, I started teaching myself how to paint.

I started sharing my pieces with one of my longest-running friends, Jess, because she is a skilled artist that graduated with a Fine Arts degree from CCAD (you can see her amazing portfolio here).  I started texting her pictures and bringing over pieces, and her enthusiasm gave me optimism for trying to move beyond this as just a "hobby".  

Our friendship was energized by our new common interests, and we began to push and give to each other in beautifully complementary ways - she gives me the wisdom and knowledge of her education and greater experience, and I share my extroverted charisma and boldness with her introverted heart.



Before long, we had pushed each other to enter a local gallery show - a hurdle that neither of us had attempted before.  And, wonder of wonders, we both got in to the first show we entered together.  We were 2 of more than 30 artists in the Hit the Hop show at Studios on High Gallery, one of the Short North's top-rated galleries.  

But the surprises didn't stop there - my piece won People's Choice during Gallery Hop.  My very first show!  There are no words that do justice for the joy of that incredible experience.

Since then, I've continued to submit and show pieces in local galleries, sell prints at various art events, set up an Etsy page to sell my paintings and prints, and collaborate on various art projects with other local artists.  I'm still doing bookkeeping work to pay the bills, but this - THIS - is what makes my beautiful life worth living.

You can also follow me and my arting on social media at @oxandtinder:

Facebook /// Instagram /// Tumblr /// Twitter

And you can also buy pretty things from me at my Etsy shop:

Ox and Tinder Watercolor