Mastery of line and movement… the sureness of her hand and the sympathy of her eye. She writes poems in the same way.
photo – Heather Gartside
This site is an homage to Heather Spears and her many contributions to art, literature, and poetry. Her blog posts have been preserved within the site. The bulk of her artwork is currently being catalogued by her family with a selection posted in the Gallery section. Please explore and enjoy.
One of her offered services that meant a great deal to many bereaved parents over the years has been passed to another artist. Inquires can be made in the Contact section.
The latest reprint (2020) of her drawing manual, The Creative Eye, is available for sale in unlimited quantities from her publisher. Other books are limited in availability but may be found via Amazon or from secondhand sellers. A final book of poems may be published at a later date.
The Creative Eye
The Creative Eye accesses new research explaining what goes on in the hard-working visual brain – even what hinders us as we try to draw. Spears’ method, developed over nearly half a century of international teaching, obsessive drawing and more than 20 books published, began as studio experiments and emerged as unique exercises in drawing. The book uses hundreds of illustrations of her own and student work, research on visual perception, and quotes and anecdotes of artists and poets. Heather persuades, informs and stimulates both the student and professional artist, injecting the fun and enthusiasm of the classroom into this new and amazing work. The Creative Eye stands highly praised, a modern classic in the theory and practice of drawing.
Fox cubs at play
Last night I heard the vixen’s
witch-laugh up past the quarry
when I was out with the dog.
The dog’s in heat, the cat’s
heavy, so wide her whiskers
don’t warn her in doorways.
Life’s at it. In the window
the buds on the whitethorn sprig
are slick fat spheres
pushed from the inside, the small cells
busy, very busy. What’s visual now
bores me, that eventual casual green,
but the thought of animal play
repeated a thousandfold, tumbling the country
in ditches, woods, warrens and nothing to do with man,
pleases me well.
How to Read Faces, 1986
Heather Spears 
So pleased this page is here for us to remember Heather. She made such a huge impact in my creative life through her teaching and book The Creative Eye. She’s always in my thoughts.
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Very glad to see this
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I am still inspired by Heather’s art in The Creative Eye, her poetry in The Word for Sand, and our enduring friendship of many decades. She is irreplaceable.
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Though I miss your presence your spirit lives in me. I’m a better man for your having been a part of my life.
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Blessed is your face
Blessed is your name
My beloved
Blessed is your smile
Which makes my soul want to fly
My beloved
All the nights
And all the times that
You cared for me
But I never realised it
Now It’s too late
Forgive me
Now I’m alone filled with so much shame
For all the years I caused you pain
If only I could sleep in your arms again
Mother I’m lost without you
You were the sun that brightened my day
Now who’s gonna wipe my tears away
If only I knew what I know today
Mother I’m lost without you
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Thank you! (she said, in tears…)
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We will never forget her ,
She is everything for us ,
She is on our thoughts all the time
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Gorgeous. What a lovely homage to a great-spirited artist!
I’ll follow the blog.
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