Artist Gerry Heroff

I took one class in Art at Monroe High School. The teacher, P.B. Johnson, was very strict. Once I was in class without a belt on and she was beside herself with anger. I was told to wear a long piece of pink crepe paper in my belt loops for the rest of the day. The vice- principal saw me and overruled Ms. Johnson. That is where I first started to consider art as a really interesting part of my life. I painted in the mid 1960’s. I then spent the next 40 years just thinking about it until 1999 when I started painting again. Since then I have gone from impressionistic to abstract.

I started painting mostly impressionistic buildings, street scenes, landscapes and portraits. I painted a series of portraits, including the Virgin Mary, Joey Ramone, Barry Manilow and Actress Cherry Jones as her Tony Award winning character Sister Aloysious. Ms. Jones kept the painting in her dressing room on Broadway.

 I paint mostly abstract now and it gives me the freedom to use colors and methods that would surprise most artists. I use brushes, knives and also my hand to place the colors and create the texture that I want.  I paint with acrylic, oil and mixed media on canvas.

 I don’t really know if that class way back in high school was my inspiration to paint or not, but now that I’m retired, painting is my passion.

Previous Exhibits and Events

Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Art Perchance, 2004 thru 2012 and Foot in the Door 2010

St. Paul Art Crawl, Fall 2008 thru 2014, Spring 2009 thru 2015

Coffee News Café, St. Paul 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011

Golden’s Deli, St. Paul 2008

West End Arts Scene & Be Seen Visual Arts Show 2008 and Reflections on the West End 2009

Day by Day Café, St. Paul 2009

The Tea Garden, St. Paul 2014 & 2015 (Exhibit runs until November 1)

Claddagh Coffee Café, St. Paul 2014

IAM St. Paul, Amsterdam Bar & Hall 2014

Gerry’s art is privately owned in the U.S., from coast to coast, Mexico, Costa Rica and South America.