cathy hegman

In her paintings, Mississippi’s Cathy Hegman allows her figurative shapes to remain anonymous, adding a bit of mystery about who they are and where they might be.

The artist: Born in Yazoo City, MS, Hegman grew up in nearby Satartia. She graduated from Mississippi State University, where she grew to love art, with a degree in interior design. After working as an interior designer for a year, she decided to focus on art as her career. She has been a painter for 36 years.

The studio: Hegman’s painting studio is located in Holly Bluff, MS, and she is in it almost every day.

“It is my refuge, when I walk in and smell the paint,” she said. “I am in my heaven on earth.”

The art & materials: Paintings, created in layers, on wood, paper, aluminum, canvas and Masonite.

What’s popular: Figurative work ($10,000 to $24,000).

Inspirations: Life itself, but not the profound moments. “I find the most interest is in the tiny insignificant moments that bubble up as memories years later.”

Awards & honors:

Gold Medal Award in the 150th American Watercolor Society (AWS) International Exhibition in New York. She was awarded a Dolphin Membership in the AWS after achieving enough medals to gain membership. The AWS is one of the oldest and most prestigious art societies in the world.
Clara Stroud Memorial Award in the AWS International Exhibition for a piece she painted with doves and broken girders.

This exhibit was right after the 9/11 attack, and the painting embodied Hegman’s thoughts of disbelief and helplessness after that day.

The Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Visual Artist of the Year for 2021.
Alden Bryan Memorial Medal for 2022 by AWS International Exhibition in New York in April.

Her painting, “Guidance,” was selected for the AWS Traveling Exhibition, which will tour the country for 11 months. One of the exhibition’s first stops is the Michelson Museum of Art in Marshall, TX, May 16-June 20.

What’s next:

Show at the Max Museum in Meridian, MS, opening May 7. The show, “The World on Paper Expressions and Realisms of Cathy Hegman and Laurin McCracken.”
Two-person exhibition at Lily Pad Gallery West in Milwaukee, WI, Oct. 20.

Where to see her work: cathyhegman.com.

Where to buy her work: