Heather Purdham, of Westcliff, Essex, was advised to give up art after being …

Heather Purdham, of Westcliff, Essex, was advised to give up art after being diagnosed with debilitating condition
But she remained determined and taught herself to paint with her mouth in less than a year
She also scored an A* in psychology and As in geography and religious studies

By
Rob Preece

PUBLISHED:

10:17 GMT, 21 August 2012

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UPDATED:

10:18 GMT, 21 August 2012

An art student with a debilitating condition who was warned she may never pick up a paintbrush again has scored an A* grade at A-level.

Doctors advised Heather Purdham, 17, to give up art after her condition made it too painful for her to pick up a brush.

But she was so determined to complete her course that she taught herself to paint while holding the brush in her mouth.

High achiever: Heather Purdham, 17, has been awarded an A* in A-level art after teaching herself to paint with her mouth

The resourceful teenager, of Westcliff, Essex, mastered the technique in less than a year, with extraordinary results.

Heather said: 'Doctors told me to give up art last summer but I am very stubborn.

'I can’t remember a time when I didn’t enjoy drawing so I knew I just had to learn to adapt.'

Heather's hopes for an A-level in art looked all but over last summer when she began to suffer excruciating pain as she gripped her paintbrush.

'I had first noticed a problem through my GCSEs when I was writing a lot more,' she said.

Nice work: Heather Purdham stands with the painting which earned her an A* in art

'I got to my AS levels last year and I couldn’t keep up any more - it was too painful and I had to stop.'

Medics believed that Heather was suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, and she underwent surgery to fix the problem.

But further analysis found that her discomfort was actually caused by hypermobility syndrome - a condition which loosens joints and can make gripping items impossible.

Heather, who attended Westcliff High School for Girls, could have given up, but she said she felt inspired by the successful English artist Alison Lapper, who was born without arms.

Heather said: 'After the operation I was told I would not be able to do any drawing with my right hand for six months.

'I had my arm in a sling for a month so I took inspiration from disabled artist Alison Lapper and began experimenting with other techniques including painting with my other hand, my fingers, my feet and my mouth.

Improvisation: Heather taught herself to produce art with her mouth after a debilitating condition made it too painful for her to grip a brush in her hand

Inspired: Heather also tried to produce pictures by holding implements between her toes

'It was really tough at first as everything I drew came out as just ridiculous scribbles.

'But I worked on it throughout the summer and began to build a technique of dabbing the paint onto the canvas whilst holding a brush in my mouth.

'It was slow work but it seemed to get results.

'When we were given our coursework title, View Points, I set about to really challenge myself.

'I grabbed a huge canvas and got to work. It took 16 hours but I think the end result was really worth it.'

Heather also received an A* in psychology, and two A grades in geography and religious studies.

She now plans to study psychology at York University - but has vowed she will continue to indulge her passion for art in her spare time.

Heather said she was inspired by the successful English artist Alison Lapper, who was born without arms

Heather plans to study psychology at York University

Role model: Heather (right), who plans to study psychology at York University said she felt inspired by the successful English artist Alison Lapper (left), who was born without arms

She said: 'I absolutely love art so will keep it up as a hobby and hopefully I can incorporate it into my future career.

'I want to work as a paediatric psychologist so I would love to be able to use art therapy as a way of inspiring children to challenge themselves.

'Hopefully my story might even inspire them too.'

Heather's parents Anne, 50, and Graham Purdham, 55, said they never doubted their daughter’s determination to complete her art course.

Mrs Purdham, who teaches arts and crafts part-time, said: 'Heather has always loved art from a very early age and so we knew even a major operation wouldn’t get in her way.

'You always hope your children will do well in their exams but we were amazed when we heard Heather had achieved an A* - especially after having had less than a year to teach herself the new technique.

'She really deserves it for all the hard work she put in.'