ABOUT
Gabrielle Wildheart is an interdisciplinary artist, muralist, and ceremonial guide based in the Pacific Northwest. Her work moves between intimate studio painting and large-scale public art. She is known for her surrealistic style, blending traditional craftsmanship with mythic subjects. Her imagery encourages care for the Earth and devotion to the sacredness of life.
ARTISTIC ROOTS
“At age 20, I moved to Italy to pursue training in classical oil painting. While there, I discovered “street painting,” and the course of my career was radically altered. For the following three years, I traveled around Europe, recreating famous paintings for tips. Busking taught me how to work fast and large. Copying the old masters taught me draftsmanship. Most importantly, by transforming dreary sidewalks into activated spaces, I learned the power of public art.
This early experience — working large, working fast, and working in the open — laid the foundation for my approach to public art and community-centered visual practice."
TRAINING
Gabrielle’s formal training includes classical study in oil painting and representational technique, followed by advanced degrees in fine art. Her education spans traditional craftsmanship and contemporary conceptual practice, giving her both breadth and depth in studio work.
Education:
MFA Fine Arts - University of the Arts London
Traditional Oil painting - Florence Academy of the Arts
BA Liberal Arts - Antioch University
STUDIO PRACTICE
Gabrielle’s studio work reflects a commitment to surface, gesture, and narrative. Her imagery speaks to inner life and the archetypal currents running through our collective experience.
In recent years, her practice has evolved to incorporate handmade earth and mineral pigments, inviting a slower, elemental dialogue with her materials. This way of painting invites Mother Earth to join as a partner rather than subject.
PUBLIC ART
Gabrielle’s large-scale murals and public artworks have been commissioned for municipalities, libraries, schools, and community organizations around the world.
Her public work is shaped through collaboration, listening, and long-term stewardship, reflecting both aesthetic intention and civic responsibility. She is known for projects that honor untold stories and voices historically overlooked in public spaces.
In 2024 she co-founded Wildheart Designs, a public art firm offering innovative sculptural and architectural artworks in the Pacific Northwest.
CEREMONY AND MENTORSHIP
Alongside her visual art, Gabrielle offers ceremonial, healing, and mentorship work. Her approach to spiritual practice emphasizes consent, somatic awareness, and animist practices. Whether held in one-to-one mentorship or group ritual, ceremony work prioritizes deep relationality and is offered as a co-creative process rather than a fixed template.
Lineages, Mentors, and Training:
Yoga with Silvia Mordini (RYT 200 in 2011)
Mythosomatics and storytelling with Joshua Schrei
Vipassana Meditation at the NW Vipassana Center
Reiki with Faith McCauley (Reiki Master Certification)
Community Ministry and Spiritual Direction with Meg Vellejos McCoy
Erotic Movement Arts with Rie Katagiri
PERSONAL
Gabrielle lives on an island in the Salish Sea with her husband and a crew of rescue animals. Together, they maintain a small homestead nestled in the forest. Coyotes, orcas, and giant cedars are her beloved neighbors.
“Every day, I work to narrow the space between the world I imagine and the world as it is. I offer my art as a steady light and marker along this path. I hope it is a reminder of what is possible.”