WHITE RIVER – Heather Hull was a legendary eccentric, beloved friend and gifted, if unusual, artist.

Working under the pseudonym Puza, she died last year at the age of 90. In her memory, her daughter Loli Carlin (néé Hull) and niece Lulu de Ujfalussy have organised an exhibition of her work, which opened at the White River Art Gallery on Saturday May 28.

Many of the friends and family in attendance offered Puza’s work from their personal collection and came from far to attend the exhibit.

Her nephew Henry Hull has been living in Australia for years. He said for his aunt her art was for its own sake.

The exhibit shows Puza’s versatility featuring finger paint, and silk-screen works and taxidermy snakes. Heather said she would stuff them “now now”. The first, a python, was preserved in a deep freeze for weeks, before getting stuffed.

The opening offered her friends and neighbours a reunion of sorts to trade tales of her famous eccentricity.

She led a bohemian lifestyle, and after a few gin and tonics, she would dip her feet in paint to create colourful backgrounds for her signature works. Happy rural African scenes would then be painted over these.

De Ujfalussy said she was very much like her aunt, adding, “We wanted to pay tribute to her.”

The exhibit ran until June 6. White River Art Gallery is open 10:00 to 16:00 from Monday to Saturday, and until 14:00 on Sunday. Enquiries: 083-675-8833.