Heidi Lustig

About the artist

Heidi Lustig is an Australian artist known by her pseudonym Violet Portrayal. She conjures worlds that are softly strange, weaving ethereal portraits that hover between reality and reverie. Her largely graphite and oil work explores themes such as loss, sacrifice, fertility, and surrender.

Heidi’s creative path began with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design in 2009, followed by a decade entrenched in the fast-paced fashion industry. The birth of her child during the pandemic sparked a profound shift, leading her to explore painting as a new and deeply gratifying self-taught art practice. Her work made its debut in 2023 with Nanny Goat Gallery marking the start of a new era. This September 2024, Lustig will present a solo exhibition titled ‘Offerings’ at Nanny Goat Gallery in Petaluma, California, a significant milestone that underscores her evolution into oil painting which has attracted a dedicated following of collectors.

Drawing from the wild abandon of her childhood holidays spent on her grandparents’ remote Australian outback farm amongst the birds and baby animals as well as her personal battles with secondary infertility and PTSD, Lustig’s art is imbued with an intimate and visceral quality. 

In her latest series, birds defiantly wield fire while their young, naive subjects surrender with serene acceptance. The birds’ playful yet determined acts show an inversion of power with humans which invites viewers to reconsider the nature of sacrifice and control.

Heidi’s technique involves meticulously drawing graphite faces onto birch wood panels, which are then sealed to preserve their delicate detail. She then oil paints around these ghostly figures, creating a captivating contrast between the muted, ethereal faces and the rich hues of the surrounding elements. This interplay accentuates the haunting allure of her subjects and invites viewers to explore the emotional depth embedded within each portrait.

Artwork Themes & Subject Matter

Through these portrayals Heidi Lustig delves into the sacrificial nature of womanhood and motherhood, the unpredictability of fertility, and the rituals that shape our lives. Her work strives to capture the quiet strength and melancholic beauty found in surrender and introspection.

Press

Heidi Lustig’s work has been featured in Issue 45 of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and also the Arts To Hearts 101 Art Books Project – Floral Book.

Upcoming Exhibitions

CV

Education

2009 Bachelor of Fine Arts/Fashion Design, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane QLD Australia.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2024

Offerings, Nanny Goat Gallery, Petaluma CA. United States

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024

See also

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PAINTINGFIGURATIVE ARTOILPORTRAITUREREALISMSURREAL ARTWATERCOLOUR

Crystal James

Ephemeral Group show, Nanny Goat Gallery, Petaluma CA. United States

Northern Exposure 8, Glasshouse Gallery, Port Macquarie NSW, Australia

2023

New beginnings Group show, Nanny Goat Gallery, Petaluma CA. United States

Works on Paper Group Show, Nanny Goat Gallery, Petaluma CA. United States