
Heather Rachel Johnston
Heather Rachel's abstract expressive paintings capture through colour, the joyous feelings brought about by big skies, natural landscapes and wild flowers.
MessageHeather started painting as an escape from working in the City of London and having a strong call to be creative. She started though local art classes and under the mentoring of Ray Whyard an artist and local art teacher, she became more and more hooked. Heather subsequently attended two years of courses at Central St Martin's School of art in London. She has also attended courses with professional artists that inspire her such as David Tress, Ashley Hanson and Paul Wadsworth to name a few!
Heather is both an Artist and a Coach and has been painting for 25 years starting with watercolours and moving into exploring acrylics and oils. She enjoys working in all mediums and likes to experiment with different textures, mediums and styles. Heather lives in North Essex on the Essex/Suffolk border and likes to travel within the UK. You will see in her collections some of the places she has enjoyed going to over the last few years. For Heather, colour is the essence of her art and when she combines that with texture and movement,that’s when she gets excited! Heather likes to play with her art and it is all about following her emotions and intuitions on a path to discovery.
Currently she is enjoying exploring materiality of pigments, paints and mediums through making her own paints and canvases.
Statement
My work has evolved over time to essentially be about colour and joyful feelings and is often triggered by the natural world.
I like to capture my joyful emotions, things that make me smile, feel peaceful or make my soul sing. Painting takes me to a more grounded immediate place, living in the moment, following an idea, colour, process or technique that is talking to me.
Painting helps me to see and be grateful for the detail of the world around me, the colours and textures. It is all about bringing joy and learning into my life and also sharing that with others.
For me, by purchasing my art, I want to help you feel good everyday too
© Heather Rachel Johnston 2012-2025