Heffernan's fantastic portraits and still lifes are visions of places out of this world. They are enchanting and almost eerie in a way. The colors are rich and vivid and the quality of the paintings makes them seem old, precious, and passed down for generations. According to the Mark Moore Gallery where she has recently displayed her work, " Akin to Magical Realism, Julie Heffernan's lush self-portraiture utilizes a myriad of art historical references to present a sensual interior narrative, a self-allegory whose half- hidden political agenda is the literal background of the paintings. The dark, Grimm fairy tale-like undercurrent transforms her aristocratic, operatic portraits into a contemporary vanitas or memento mori, acting as both a stylized fantasy and a Bosch-like warning." The narratives Heffernan creates through her portraits inspires me in creating my own and paying attention to minute details in order to add more and more layers of discovery.
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