Healing Hearts Haven Founder, Ashley Morken, has been involved with art since she was a young girl copying 2-D images from coloring books at the age of eight. She started oil painting when she was twelve years old, the youngest age her mentor, South Dakota artist, Margaret Schmidt, would consider. Ashley produced two oil paintings throughout high school, which she donated to her parents. After high school, Ashley dabbled in Multi-Media art and design, focusing more on computer animation, and leaving traditional painting behind for a time. She later dropped out of art school because, "the traditional educational drawing courses created an atmosphere where I felt art was a chore, and I lost my passion for it," Ashley says. She picked up Acrylic painting and watercolor after having children at thirty-years-old. "The speed at which the paint dries in both watercolor and acrylic allowed me to finish a piece in a weekend as a busy mom, as opposed to oil, which takes much longer," Ashley says, "I enjoy all mediums of art, and find solace in the process." Currently, she works in large commission customized acrylic pieces alongside her endeavors to bring art to children. Her latest commission project featured an angus cattle herd on the Wessington Springs hillsides for a local rancher. Her watercolor tends to focus on South Dakota nature hot spots such as the Black Hills, Badlands, Custer State Park, scenery from her life on the ranch in central Wessington Springs, and other scenes she captures through photography on vacation to places like Yellow Stone in Wyoming. She can paint any subject, but has a knack and deep passion for painting sunsets, animals, and landscapes. ​ If you'd like to hire her for a custom commissioned art piece. Click the button below and enter in information for the type of work you are looking for; Ashley will reply with her pricing and sizing quotes as well as with an inquiry on details and specifications for the project.