King Range artist in residence to hold gallery showing

WHITETHORN, Calif. - Painter Heejin Kwak, an artist-in-residence at the Bureau of Land Management King Range National Conservation Area, will display works inspired by the beauty of California's Lost Coast, in a showing Saturday, May 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Shelter Cove Arts and Recreation Foundation Gallery, 1060 Upper Pacific, Shelter Cove.

Heejin, who hails from North Carolina, has been participating in the Artist in Residence Program since April 21, where local landscapes were the basis for her work.

"I visited Shelter Cove last year. When I first saw the views there, it felt like an illusion-as if I were witnessing the time of creation. Everywhere I looked, I felt inspired to paint," Heejin said. ""My paintings are very intimate with nature. Nature gives us peace. I believe that the peace in my paintings leads us to healing."

Heejin began painting in 1985. Her artistic journey started with traditional Korean painting. In 1995, she moved to Spain, where she expanded her practice into oil painting.

The BLM and Shelter Cove's Arts and Recreation Foundation annually partner in the Artist in Residence Program in which artists live in Shelter Cove for a month, creating art, leading workshops and displaying their creations reflecting the beauty of the King Range NCA.