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. I just have to follow what the medium tells me to do. What begins as an abstract design may turn out to be representational. And some pieces that start out representational may turn out more abstract. For me, that's what's exciting.
Heighton's work is sold in more than thirty countries throughout the world. Corporate collections in which he is honored include Imperial Oil, Texaco Oil, Ronalds Federated, Air Canada and Laing Properties.