Heide Presse
Combining her interest in art, history, and needlework, Heide’s paintings reveal many talents. Painting mid-19th century subjects allows her to indulge her fascination for period textiles and clothing, and to research the material culture of past eras. “Having chosen to depict the lives of the people who lived in the 19th century, I feel a strong responsibility to portray them as authentically as I can. Their voices fill my heart and imagination as I read their journals, and I strive to open a window into their lives, and enjoy depicting them in ordinary everyday moments. There is much beauty to be found in simplicity.”
Heide currently lives and maintains her studio in Tampa, Florida. She has always had artistic talent, winning a best artist award in kindergarten, and earning her BFA in graphic design in Texas. After graduation, Heide worked in commercial art in northeast Texas, and eventually transitioned into fine art and painting. Her art has been featured in Art of the West, Western Art Collector, American Artist, The Artists Magazine, and Tampa Bay Magazine. Her work has been shown in many exhibitions and shows including, Quest for the West at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, A Timeless Legacy: Women Artists of Glacier National Park at the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, Montana, American Miniatures, Small Works, Great Wonders at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Western Visions at the National Wildlife Museum in Jackson, Wyoming, History Meets the Arts in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Arts for the Parks, in Jackson, Wyoming, American Women Artists, among many others. Her work was published by the Greenwich Workshop, and is part of many private and public collections. She is currently working on a large scale project of paintings interpreting a mid 1800s journal written by a woman.