Heather Gulliver

I was born and brought up in Zimbabwe where I learnt to revel in and be moulded by the wilds.

The year I spent at Atelier Met de Penninghen et d'Andon in Paris ( Academie Julienne) a famously rigorous course where I learnt much was fabulous. The many exhibitions I saw were real education.

Three years in Cambridge were enlightening, although I found the art school scene in the UK very disappointing in that politics, identities and origins counted more than artistic ability, experiment and openness to ideas.

From 1976 I had my own etching workshop before changing to oil painting in 1985.

I love the tropical and subtropical wilds especially southern Africa the land of my formative years where the light is bright. The atmosphere of unspoilt places is magic, always different, always with peculiar characteristics. The more you draw the more you see. Beautiful plants are life enhancing; their shapes and colours are a veritable feast for the eyes. I delight in attempting to bring this atmosphere to different places