One of the first pieces of Heidi’s art I stumbled across was a tiny bat with a striped sweater wearing glasses. It was charming, quirky, and full of a warm adorable vignette. It turns out that her art reflects her life perfectly: grounded in nature, curious, and an abundance of cozy vibes. When she’s not painting whimsical characters in striped sweaters, Heidi is out on the trails reflecting on sunrises, reminding herself and us that there’s more to life than perfect lines on a canvas. It reminds us of balance and finding magic in the everyday. - Eunice
BK: Hi Heidi, it’s such a joy to have you with us today! Before we talk a bit more in depth about your creative journey, we’d love to get to know you beyond the artist. Who is Heidi outside of the art realm? What moments or influences shaped the path you're on today?
Heidi: Thank you for this opportunity! So happy to be here!
Outside of my art world I am an avid runner with a great love for the trails. I like to spend my days off on a mountain or a really long run. Waking up before the sunrise, chasing the sun, ending the day with dusty legs and the appetite of a starved raccoon. Being outside with friends really fills my cup. I used to work very unhealthy hours when I first became a full-time illustrator with no understanding of work-life balance. My career and running have taught me about letting go of my ego to recenter myself. I found that making time to run local trails and spending time outside of my little studio reminded me that there is more to me than my career as an artist.
BK: Have you always known art would be your calling? Was there a specific moment or quiet realization that led you to pursue this creative path professionally?
Heidi: I have a funny memory that I look back at many times from when I was only four years old that I still relate to. My older sister was drawing a house and I wanted to do the same. I remember scrapping so many sketches because I couldn’t make the “perfect” house that I had in mind. I was so mad. It was the birth of the perfectionist in me. I always paid attention to detail in art and especially in picture books. I would pause and observe all the details on beautifully illustrated spreads. I was mesmerized by cozy settings like Frog and Toad and the Berenstain Bear’s home. It inspired me to design my own and create stories around them.
I grew up around many artists in the family so it felt very natural to lean into my interest in drawing. In school I was mostly known as the kid that could draw and it made me feel like a true artist. The confidence helped shape my identity as an artist but I wasn’t prepared to make it a career. I witnessed my grandparents go through financial troubles as they struggled to keep art as their career. I admired their tenacity but feared to take the same path for myself. Painting is something I never stopped practicing even as I went through my college days majoring in English for my love of reading. It wasn’t until my late twenties that I decided to go all in with my art and take the leap. It’s been a challenging but wonderful adventure.
BK: When we first discovered your work, it instantly brought a smile to our faces. Your whimsical characters and backdrops are magical! Where do you draw inspiration from? Is your art world rooted in real-life experiences, memories, or purely imagination?
Heidi: Growing up as a sensitive kid I recognized that I loved characters in cartoons, movies and books that were honest and perceptive. These characters stayed with me because they reminded me of myself. I related to Charlie Brown, Elliott from E.T., Edward Scissorhands and Fern from Charlotte’s Webb. When I create my characters for an illustration I like to imagine their world. What does their home look like, or what tea they prefer and so on. I also really enjoy dressing up my characters. I typically dress them in clothes that I wish I had and could make for myself! Inevitably I noticed that my characters are very much like myself, an introvert with a love for striped clothing and cozy autumn settings.
BK: You’re known for your beautiful use of watercolors, gouache, and colored pencils. If you could only use one of those mediums for a whole year, which would it be and why?
Heidi: Yes I love this question! I love asking other artists something similar! For me, I would say I would choose to draw with colored pencils for a whole year. I have a strong preference for any kind of pencil because they’re so rich with textures. There’s more of a sensory experience with pencils because you choose the pressure, you hear the sound they make onto paper and they always leave behind a colorful dust and scent. I am a weirdo and love pencils so much that I have a tattoo of one on my drawing hand.
BK: Many of us are working from home these days, and we’re curious what does a typical day look like for you as a working artist? Are there routines or rituals that anchor your day?
Heidi: I like to say that I’m very cat-like because I love routine. My day begins early around 5-6 am and I typically go for a trail run. I have a rule of not checking my email before my run because it spoils the pureness of the morning. After my run I make coffee, clean up, eat and begin my work day until the sunlight fades. If I’m painting spreads for a book project I always stop before the sun sets because I notice I make terrible color choices when the light fades. My husband typically prepares us a beautiful dinner and we enjoy some television time until about 8pm. This is when we begin our sleep hygiene. Running many miles and staying creative means I need good, restful sleep so we are big sleep fans in our house! We enjoy incense and reading time until bedtime around 9pm.
BK: As you know, we are big fans of analogue tools! What do your systems to map out your ideas or schedule look like?
Heidi: Yes analogue tools are magic! I am very traditional with many of my practices and still prefer paper and pen/pencil over digital. I always begin my projects whether personal or for a book, with my sketchbook, or paper and graphite pencil. I like how organic the entire process feels. I love using cheap copy paper so that I won’t feel too precious about the brainstorming phase and pair that with a 4-6B pencil. Bold lines make me feel brave! I still use a physical planner because it’s an excuse to use my cute stickers and fancy pens and highlighters. Life’s too short to not use your precious stickers. I also have a personal journal that I write in and even have a dedicated fancy fountain pen for this ritual. These tools add to the process in such a cathartic way because I become present in my practice and find that state of flow is much easier to access.
BK: Creative blocks happen to all of us. When you hit a wall or feel uninspired, how do you gently guide yourself back into a creative flow?
Heidi: I find that I am typically blocked creatively when I am burned out. If I find myself being hyper critical of my work or unable/uninspired to create I take a pause. This is the time to get bored, spend hours on a mountain, rot on the couch and recharge. There have been times though when I can’t afford the time to escape my studio because of a pressing deadline. If I’m tight on time but feeling that creative block I try to give myself an entire day to get away from the work. When I was working on my first children’s book I found myself losing steam so I made a list for myself of things to do instead of working for an entire day. My favorites were visiting an art museum and dancing in the kitchen. Recently, my new habit is to go outside in my backyard after a long day of painting in my studio and stare at the sunset a la Hayao Miyazaki. I can get in my head when the perfectionist comes in and obsess over details that no one sees in a painting. When I go outside and stare at a tree or the LA parrots flying overhead, I am reminded that there’s more to life than that imperfect line on my painting. Nature is so humbling.
BK: We know nature plays a big role in your life and work. Could you share a favorite memory of being outdoors that has inspired your art, or perhaps one that recharged your spirit?
Heidi: One of my favorite things to do is to work in my sketchbook. There are no rules and no deadlines. Sometimes when I visit a place, I am constantly revisiting my favorite experiences in my head. So I like to create a spread on my travel journal or my sketchbook so that I remember these little bits that made my experience so memorable. My favorite sketchbook spreads are from my first Big Sur trip and Hakone, Japan trip. It was a beautiful way for me to find a way to keep a travel journal or a personal postcard of these magical trips. It makes me even happier when I see that someone else relates to my experience when they see my travel journal spread.
BK: You’ve worked on so many delightful projects! Is there one that holds a particularly special place in your heart? What made it meaningful?
Heidi: I will always treasure my first book Working From Home with a Cat. This book started out as a zine that I created and printed in my studio (pre-pandemic) and was my first big personal project. I carefully planned it, creating a schedule and an outline and mini storyboard. It debuted at CatCon where an editor discovered it and later emailed me to see if I was interested in making it into a 75 page book. A book about me being a happy introvert working from home with my silly goober cat was going to be published. As we worked on the book we found ourselves quarantined and suddenly my book is more relatable than I could ever imagine. The timing part of this book was a wild coincidence! This is still a reminder for me to continue to make time for personal projects because it’s the work that speaks the most to me.
BK: If your art had a secret message hidden inside it, what would you hope people feel or remember after seeing it?
Heidi: I hope people can feel the warmth, playfulness and magic of my characters and the little bugs and details that I usually add in my illustrations. It’s like a warm hug from childhood but specifically on a cool autumn halloween night.
Where to find Heidi:
IG: @heidiroo_art
Website: Heidiroo.com
Bk Artifacts Featured:
- Hobonichi Original // A6 - 2026 Coming Soon!
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