Watercolor exhibit reception Saturday at Blanden

The exhibition "Don Heggen: Master of Luminous Watercolors" will open at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum.

Heggen will speak at 3 p.m., followed by a reception. The opening reception is free and open to the public.

The exhibition will remain on view until Oct. 22.

Article Photos

-Submitted photo

Watercolor artist Don Heggen, who grew up at Harcourt, will be at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum at 3 p.m. Saturday for an artist’s talk. His work will be on exhibit through the middle of October.

Each of the 21 by Heggen is a "carefully romanced jewel of complexity, sheer graphic beauty, endlessly nuanced color and varied form," said Blanden Director Margaret Skove. His work is fresh, forthright - a bit of magic included - imaginative and timeless.

"Optically captivating, each color tonal or hue modulation communicates the ability to acutely visualize the moment. A firm sense of exquisite beauty in the natural world and an equal sense of the fragile relationship between nature and humanity are his narratives."

From Long Grove, Heggen said, "As a child growing up, the youngest of eight children on a farm near Harcourt, I learned a lot from my older sisters and brothers. My father was so busy farming, and my mother organized everything that was going to happen each and every day. I watched as my brothers ran a trap line, hunted wildlife and helped work the farm. The respect for nature was gained from farming the land and listening to all the stories my father and his brothers told about their lives and what they had to do when they were young.

"My mother and I used to take walks around the farmstead in the evening when it had cooled off a little and the meal was over and dishes cleaned. I remember when I was a senior in high school, she asked me what I intended to do. In reality, I had no idea. She mentioned that I should go to college. That was such a shock, I didn't know what to say; I had never thought about college because I thought that was reserved for the very brightest and best students. She knew something I didn't; that perseverance has a way of turning an idea into reality.

"Robert Halm, art instructor at Fort Dodge Community College, was the first art teacher I had, since Harcourt Community Schools didn't offer any art classes. He was an encouraging and very positive person, who helped to mold my feeble attempts at drawing and painting. There were many students from big schools like Humboldt, Eagle Grove and Fort Dodge who had years of art experiences, but that didn't deter Mr. Halm from encouraging all of us to keep trying.

"After four years in the United States Air Force, I returned to Fort Dodge to work at Osco Drug selling cameras. By then I was married to Linda Manship from Humboldt, and we had a daughter, Teresa. We moved to Mankato, Minn., where I worked for the college and received my degree in art education. My first job was in Davenport, where I taught junior high for two years before I was encouraged to apply for the opening at Davenport West High School. It was at that time that I, decided to get my masters degree and started to work on it at Western Illinois University.

"In 1971 I received my master of arts degree in drawing and painting. I taught at West High School for the next 28 years, with stints as an adjunct professor at Marycrest University, St. Ambrose University and Drake University. I taught night classes at Davenport Museum of Art, and when the new museum opened in 2001 as the Figge Art Museum, I continued teaching for the museum, although I had retired from West High School in 1998.

"Watercolor became my main medium for work and it was after I retired that I began to seriously follow my dream to create many pieces of art."