Wanda Hein's "Sunburst," a torn-paper collage, brightens her living room. The Foothills artist, who has worked in multiple media most of her life, celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this month.

Greg Bryan / Arizona Daily Star

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She no longer has a studio, but artist Wanda Hein still manages to keep on painting at the age of 90.

Her versatile artwork decorates the lobby of Atria Campana del Rio, the Foothills-area retirement community that Hein has called home for the past four years.

"I can't imagine life without creating art," she said recently in a minuscule living room that shares a counter with a kitchen. On that flat surface, Hein turns blank canvas into mountain landscapes and other images that reveal her affection for the Southwest.

Hein celebrated her 90th birthday with a big party Jan. 4.

"There must have been more than 60 people over," Hein said last Monday. "All my children and grandchildren were there. We had champagne and three birthday cakes and lots of food and entertainment."

Hein's art makes for great conversation among residents and visitors who see it on display at Atria Campana del Rio, said director Fran Donnellan.

"It provides an opportunity for the community to view her work and to purchase her work. Many people have," Donnellan said, calling Hein a gifted artist.

"The artwork itself is so finely done, it's good quality, it's beautiful colors, there's lots of movement," Donnellan said before Hein's birthday. "And we're proud of Wanda, she'll be 90 years old and she's still a practicing artist."

Barbara Banks discovered Hein's artwork in the summer of 2007, while taking a writing class at the retirement community, 1550 E. River Road.

"I saw a painting and I thought, 'Boy, this is really good work,' " recalled Banks, an artist and former director of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art in Wisconsin.

Banks owns two paintings of geologic strata that Hein — who later became a friend — completed at the age of 88. Banks said she bought one, and a friend gave her the other.

"They're wonderful," Banks said. "I feel like I can put myself in them."

At the retirement home, Hein sometimes runs into people who have owned her paintings for years, she said. Two former teachers who learned that Hein is a resident there visited recently.

"They came here and I had lunch with them," Hein said. "They gave me pictures of all these paintings and they're all still hanging in their homes. It was neat."

What means the most to Hein now, she said, is "the fact that people enjoy things that I create."

Hein's paintings, reminders of a lifetime of experiences, hang from the walls of her own apartment. They include works in acrylic and collage, as well as watercolor and oil.

"I did those two in San Miguel, when I was in Mexico back in 1975," she said, pointing to two large acrylics in her living room. One portrays the famous aqueduct arches in Querétaro, the other a cathedral in San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato.

"Now I have to do small things, but that satisfies my creative urge," she said.

Hein has painted since she was a child in Southern California, where she grew up and raised three children. She moved to Arizona in 1979 for health reasons.

Despite some breathing problems and physical ailments, Hein continues to pursue art as much as possible.

Over the years, she has won many awards in juried shows in Arizona and California. In addition to homes, her paintings hang in such places as medical offices and law firms.

"I feel fortunate that I've been able to do this as long as I have," Hein said.