Judith Heggen has a life long love of art in all forms. She took her first painting class in highschool, producing a still life that her parents framed and proudly displayed, despite how bad it was!
But as life would have it, “life” got in the way of artistic pursuits. She also possessed a strong interest and love of medicine. She began a professional career in nursing, but her desire to be a life long learner resulted in her starting medical school at the age of 40. She practiced Pediatric Critical Care Medicine until retirement in 2020.
Following retirement she eagerly enrolled in her first painting class, only to have it cancelled because of the pandemic. Not to be deterred she began taking on line classes studying acrylic's, watercolor, and gouache. Learning from a fellow artist she also began practicing Zen tangle. 
In January of 2021 she finally took her first in person course studying watercolor landscape. To this date she continues in person learning studying watercolor, drawing, oils and pastels. 

Her love of gardening and of the rural nature of her home state has led her practice to mainly consist of landscapes, often filled with flowers, dramatics skies, the color green, and the changing seasons. 
Always eager to try something new she has begun studying and using cold wax with oil and mono printing, leading to more abstract work and collage. 
She was born in Iowa, and while residency and fellowship drew her to the south, she returned to Iowa to practice medicine. She currently lives in Des Moines, Iowa, and can often be found taking classes and painting at The Des Moines Art Center, Mainframe Studios, her home studio or painting with her group of artist friends- Women Drawn Together. Practicing art with others has been both inspirational and performative. She considers it essential to her growth as an artist and a great joy in her life. 
Her steady practice of art has led to the honor of being chosen for several small exhibits as well as several juried shows. 
She says the greatest compliment she has received was being told her art was joyful and made the viewer feel happy!