NB: This painting can be secured now. It is on show in John Dyer’s ‘Spirit of the Harvest’ Exhibition at the Eden Project and will be shipped after 9 February 2026, or sooner on request.

In ‘Tropical Home Garden, Costa Rica’, John Dyer, Eden Project’s Artist in Residence and an official Artist for the Earth with Earth Day, paints a radiant portrait of everyday life in the Caribbean rainforest. Commissioned by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI, now known as Bioversity International) and created on location in the heat and humidity of Central America, the painting celebrates the richness of the home garden — a traditional source of food and resilience for families in the tropics.

Bananas, papayas, pineapples and cacao thrive side by side, offering both nourishment and income. Chickens forage across the ground, while the vast arching fronds of a banana plant — the world’s largest herb — dominate the composition. Dyer carefully observes the banana red flower spike and the hanging cluster of green bananas forming beneath the leaves, emphasising the plant’s role as a provider. These dramatic arcs of foliage create a natural frame that opens onto the family house beyond, where figures are seen at the doorway and on the balcony, adding warmth and narrative to the scene.

Dyer’s brushwork is lively and expressive, with radiant yellows, rich reds and deep turquoises animating the rainforest palette. Painted en plein air during his global expedition, the work carries the immediacy of place, every mark shaped by the heat, colour and sound of Costa Rica.

The home garden is central to tropical life, sustaining families with diverse crops while maintaining biodiversity within a small, balanced ecosystem. This painting unites ethnobotany, culture and art, making visible the intricate relationship between people and plants.

For collectors, this original artwork offers both a joyful vision and a piece of cultural history, created on a landmark commission for a world-leading conservation organisation. To own this John Dyer painting is to invest in one of the UK's most celebrated artists and to bring the warmth and vitality of Costa Rica into your home.

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The painting is featured in the book 'Painting the Colours of the World' by Kate Dinn.

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Read about artist John Dyer

Artist Chronology I Paintings in Public Collections I View John Dyer's Latest Paintings