Heather Harrison

As a child I became aware of Vermeer’s sublime paintings, and since then art has always been my first love.
I have a compelling urge to create – it is an intrinsic part of me.

After training in the 1960s at Ravensbourne School of Art and Design, and the Central School of Art, I became a graphic designer. At first designing art gallery catalogues for Gimpel Fils, I then worked for Conran and other major London design groups. I still painted in my spare time and in the late 1960s my work began selling through an agent in Chelsea,
much of which is now in American collections, including that of the Pierpont Morgan family.

My graphic training has instilled a distinct emphasis on colour and form in all my work. I am a mainly figurative painter, but there are always underlying abstract elements in my compositions. Always based on observation drawing, I paint in oils and acrylics, although I enjoy experimenting with other techniques too. Choosing themes that resonate deeply with me, I aim to convey a sense of place and mood. Being an artist and an avid gardener, I find myself particularly drawn to the genre of garden art.