Hi! I’m Heather Miller
I am an abstract artist living just outside Washington, D.C. in Fairfax, Virginia. I received my BFA in Digital Art from George Mason University in 2011. I exhibit my work throughout the region.
I am a self-produced artist so I primarily sell online. When I do exhibit my work in the real world, I stick to casual galleries and art shows that appeal to a lot of audiences.
It is my hope that my art inspires people to fill their home with happy colors & playful textures. I try to create art that is accessible to people in many ways – technique, materials, and even price.
My art is about the exploration of color and form. I love using different materials including those not normally thought of as art supplies (even though many actually art, just in different packaging).
As you browse the site, you’ll find that I tell the ‘story’ of each piece. I usually include the details on how I created it so you can try it yourself (and you totally should).
Just the FAQs….
Why is your work priced so low?
I’m frequently told I underprice my work. That would be true if I was a gallery artist but I’m not. I price my work “low” for a reason. When I was in art school I had to go to New York City to see art at least once a year. During my first trip I found a piece online that was being exhibited in the Chelsea district. That was my first stop. I was completely in the love with the painting. It was like someone looked at my entire life, found everything I was ever passionate about, & put it on a canvas in a style that looked like digital art (which was my passion at the time). When I arrived at the gallery, I headed straight for it only to have my heart shattered. It cost $160,000, more than the house I had custom built in when I lived in Ohio. I realized right then that, as an artist, I did not want people to experience that feeling with my art.
I try to keep my prices low so that most anyone can afford to buy a unique, custom piece of art rather than a mass-produced piece from a chain store. I fervently believe that price shouldn’t prevent you from having truly unique art in your home.
Why is your art so expensive?
Creating even a simple piece of art often costs a lot more than you would assume. While I try to price shop my supplies as much as possible, canvases, paint, and other supplies aren’t always cheap. Painter’s Caulk is inexpensive but the pigment powders I mix with it cost an arm and leg (a tiny jar can cost $20+). Canvases can vary wildly in price and cheap ones are often just that: cheap. When I do use those (and I do), I almost always have to frame them because the wood on the canvas is a bit warped so the canvas won’t lay flat on the wall. I spend crazy amounts of time price shopping frames but those add to the cost too. Paints can run the gambit from relatively inexpensive to jaw-dropping. While I try to avoid the stuff that makes me cringe, sometimes I can’t find a paint that works as well.
Long story short, I am a business owner and I do try to keep my costs in check but ultimately this is what I do for a living. I do, however, sell prints (& other merchandise) of many of my pieces so if an original is out of your price range, check out my Zazzle & Society 6 shops! Prints can start as low as $9 (Zazzle runs big sales all the time so I highly recommend waiting for at least 40% off). If you don’t see the piece you’re looking for, let me know. I have a lot of art to upload to those sites so I may not have gotten to it yet.
Can I trust you enough to buy online from you?
Yes, but you don’t have to take my word on that. You can check out my seller ratings at Etsy and eBay. I haven’t sold art on eBay but I’ve sold misc things there since 1999. You can see I have all positive reviews on both sites. If you’re buying direct I accept payment through PayPal or Square (your choice). Both companies have had my back when I had issues with transactions so I know they’ll have yours too.
How does shipping work?
I package my work very, very carefully. I’m always happy to send you pictures of the packaging for your approval before I ship. I only ship insured with tracking. I can ship with USPS, UPS, and Fedex so if you have preference just let me know. I have an entire room full of shipping supplies so I usually can pack up your art and have it ready to ship within 1-2 days of the payment clearing.
Why do you exhibit as WhiteRose’s Art?
Heather Miller is a really common name, even among artists. I’ve gone by WhiteRose on the internet since the mid-1990’s. My first website, WhiteRosesGarden.com (not active atm), has been in existence since 1997. It has always been my go-to name. Ironically, it’s probably only slightly less common that Heather Miller LOL.
Were you formerly TexelGirl Art?
I was! Around 2011 I decided the name no longer fit. You see, a texel is essentially like a pixel but in 3 dimensional space. When I started out, I primarily did 3D models for video games like The Sims 2. I even went to art school to learn to be better at that. I chose the wrong school at the wrong time for that sadly. By the time I got my BFA in Digital Art, I didn’t even want to think about doing digital art, of any kind, anymore. I decided since that was the case, the name had to go.
Anything Else?
Oh, I’m an avid gamer. I started my ‘career’ in art doing video game mods for The Sims 2. I still play a lot video games but almost solely PC games. I’ve done texture packs (art) for Minecraft and some smaller mods for Skyrim and Oblivion.
When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronomer. Star Wars was a huge influence on my life as a kid. As I got older, I developed a bitter hatred for math which, as it turns out, I’m actually OK at. I spent most of my school years thinking I sucked but a high school teacher at the end of junior year pointed out that my nearly failing grade was ALL because I suck at arithmetic (calculators were largely forbidden). When he said that if I could add/subtract I would have gotten an A and my last 3 tests I wanted to scream, cry, and punch something. In the end, I didn’t pursue any of the sciences because math always stressed me out, even years later when I got A’s and B’s in college. My ongoing series, Intergalactic, stems from my love of astronomy.
In the past, I owned a gift shop, Journeys of the Soul, in Columbus, Ohio. In the even more distant past, I co-founded a non-profit education center, Sanctuary, in Medina, Ohio. While it existed, I served as the director of the Arts & Cultural center and was the Editor In Chief of the newsletter, The Human Voice. I created some fun, and profitable, events for the center including the Holistic Fair, a 2-day monthly event featuring performers, vendors, healers, and psychics. We also held art shows, concerts, and offered a wide array of classes covering everything from art to zen. Heather Miller Art