PATCHOGUE, NY — The Patchogue Arts Council (PAC) is pleased to present Fire Island Reverie, a solo exhibition by Long Island artist Heather Arnold, on view August 24 through November 24, 2026, at the PAC Satellite Gallery @ SEPA Mujer, located at 110 North Ocean Avenue, Patchogue, NY 11772. A public reception will be announced at a later date.
In Fire Island Reverie, Arnold draws from childhood memories, personal history, and the emotional landscape of summers spent on Fire Island. Through vibrant, narrative-driven paintings, she explores themes of nostalgia, escapism, identity, and mental health, creating imagery that moves between the deeply personal and the playfully imagined.
Born in 2002, Arnold is a Long Island–based painter and multidisciplinary artist who earned a BFA in Fine Art from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Working primarily in oil paint, while also exploring digital art, printmaking, and resin casting, she creates colorful works inspired by childhood experiences, family, beloved pets, and the places that have shaped her sense of self.
Arnold describes her artistic practice as a personal coping mechanism—one that allows her to navigate mental health through imagery rooted in nostalgia, humor, and escape. During childhood, the freedom and warmth of summers spent on Fire Island with her grandparents and extended family stood in sharp contrast to the stress of the school year and her home environment. That duality continues to inform her work, where nostalgic beach imagery is joined by imaginative characters, unexpected narratives, and memories transformed through humor.
While playful and often lighthearted on the surface, Arnold’s paintings carry a deeper emotional significance. Her work considers the relationship between past and present, using memory as a way to revisit experience, reshape it, and create new spaces of connection. Through expressive color, visible brushwork, and distinctly painterly surfaces, Arnold creates scenes that feel at once familiar, quirky, joyful, and introspective.
Arnold begins her process with sketches and collected references, often collaging photographs from her personal camera roll to develop her compositions. Working on surfaces ranging from canvas paper to recycled wood paneling, she embraces the evidence of the artist’s hand and allows color, texture, and brushwork to give her paintings an animated quality.
Fire Island Reverie is presented by the Patchogue Arts Council through its Satellite Gallery program, which expands opportunities for artists while bringing contemporary art into accessible community spaces throughout Patchogue.
Exhibition: Fire Island Reverie
Artist: Heather Arnold
Dates: August 24 – November 24, 2026
Reception: To Be Announced
Location: PAC Satellite Gallery @ SEPA Mujer
Address: 110 North Ocean Avenue, Patchogue, NY 11772
Presented by: Patchogue Arts Council
SEPA Mujer is located at 110 North Ocean Ave., Patchogue. The exhibit is open to the public during business hours.
For more information about the artist or exhibition contact the Patchogue Arts Council at 631-627-8686
