I don't attempt to make social commentaries, Heighton says. I work instead with natural elements. They're passive, serene and, for me, a rest from the way things are around us today.

His watercolors reflect both his environment, Canada's Pacific coast, and his artistic influences: American, Oriental and Soviet Impressionists. Perhaps, too, the effect of having grown up on two farms, surrounded by nature influences his subject matter.

He experiments with both abstract and representational forms, but the art is spontaneous. I take a piece of paper and pull something out of it. I don't necessarily know at the beginning where I'm going.... [View Full Biography]