Artist Heidi Hybl starts each day listening to the birds sing in the canyon near her home in Big Sur. Then, she makes a cup of tea, reviews the previous day’s work, turns on her podcasts and starts. She paints in a small studio that is separate from her house, and works on several pieces at a time within what she would call “organized chaos.” She also takes time to tend her flowers, vegetables, chickens and goats. A former medical professional, Heidi worked for several years with laser machines, developing a knowledge and a fascination with the color spectrum and light. Living in Big Sur offers inspiration in the ever-changing atmospheric conditions that arise when hills, canyons, and ocean meet. She then reduces these elements to an abstract experience on canvas in a color palette derived from her surroundings: sunsets and storms, fire and fog.