I'm Stella Robinson Lightheart
I paint as if casting a spell...
Painting is my meditation and my alchemy:
a way of transforming raw emotion into luminous worlds of colour, ink, and light.
Each piece becomes a bridge between memory, myth, and metamorphosis.My work explores thresholds and transformation,
the moments where identity dissolves and reforms.
It's shaped by personal stories, some spoken and others hidden…
and by a deep fascination with the portals we cross in life -
leaving one chapter behind, stepping into another.Alongside my art, I'm an Emmy-winning Animation Editor, shaping expressive visual stories for projects like StoryBots: Answer Time at Netflix Animation.
My creative journey began in Wellington, New Zealand, where I worked on productions such as What We Do in the Shadows and The Hobbit trilogy.
Those early years in film and television taught me the language of pacing, rhythm, and emotional storytelling: a sensitivity I now weave into every piece I make.My upbringing shaped this lens too: England, New Zealand, California.
Three continents, countless thresholds.
I call this constellation of places Transatlanticpacifica,
and its landscapes, light, and stories still infuse my visual language.These two paths - Editor and Artist - are inseparable.
Each ink bloom carries the rhythm of narrative;
each shift of light mirrors a turning point in a story.
Whether I'm cutting a scene or pouring colour onto paper, my intention is the same:
to make art that invites others to feel, explore, and transform.
KIA ORA, FRIENDS
Curriculum Vitae
Exhibitions & Installations
2025 - Group Exhibition - The Artist Tree, Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA
2025 - Solo Exhibition - The Artist Tree, Beverly Hills, CA
2025 - Group Exhibition - ‘In Orbit’, Santa Clarita, CA
2025 - Group Exhibition - RAW Artists Los Angeles, CA
2021 - The Labyrinth - Site & land work, Joshua Tree, CA. A walking labyrinth built with friends in 2021; painted as a body of work in 2026.
2019 - Group Exhibition - Saturday Gallery, Macclesfield, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Selected Press & Features
2025 - VoyageLA - on art as healing, the Emmy, and the move from the English countryside to LA
2023 - Canvas Rebel - on painting as practice and building an art life in LA
2023 - VoyageLA - on the path from film editorial to a painting practice, and art as therapy and transformation.
2019 - In Cheshire Magazine - on Celtic mythology and abstract expressionism
2019 - Prestbury Living - on Cheshire roots and Saturday Gallery, Macclesfield
Professional Background: Film & Animation
A decade in screen editorial - the craft beneath the painting practice.
2025 - 3rd Annual Children's & Family Emmy® Awards - Outstanding Editing Storybots: Answer Time · Netflix Animation, Hollywood CA
Won for editing excellence on a preschool animated series. Recognised for narrative rhythm, visual sequencing, and collaborative production leadership.
2023 - Visual Dubbing Supervisor · Flawless AI, Los Angeles CA
Applied editorial and colour science expertise within an AI-driven visual production pipeline.
2020 - 2023 - Picture Editor, Workflow Consultant & Assistant Editor · Netflix Animation, Hollywood CA
Core editorial team member across multiple series. Led workflow optimisation, pipeline consulting, and editorial execution for award-winning children's programming.
2019 - Post-Production Supervisor · Seismic Productions, Los Angeles CA
2012 - 2018 - Editor · Assistant Editor · Animation Co-Ordinator
HULU · Universal Television · Amazon · Warner Brothers Animation · Industrial Light and Magic · Weta Digital · Wingnut Films · Two Canoes
Freelance roles across animation, live-action, and VFX-heavy productions.
Credits include The Hobbit and What We Do in the Shadows across Los Angeles, California, and Wellington, New Zealand.
Selected Works & Series
Mythic World - central body of work; the figure, the crossing, the alchemical traverse - ongoing
Studies in Transmutation - looped studies documenting the process of alchemy - ongoing
The Labyrinth - land & painted works - ongoing
Colour Worlds / Living Portals - original paintings & animated works
Education & Training
2011 - The New Zealand Film and Television School, Wellington, New Zealand
2019 -Self-taught painter: independent study in figure, colour, and alchemical symbolism