About
Helen, a fine art graduate, has been practicing as an artist for several years, whilst also teaching art at secondary school level.
Since she can remember Helen has always been inspired by the urban built environment and the inherent characteristics of architectural and urban spaces. The city of Newcastle, with particular reference to 1960s brutalist architecture, notably featuring underpasses heavilly in her work. She has also travelled to New York taking inspiration from the subway environment there, fusing these two places together in abstract and photo realist works.
Light and space are recurring themes in Helen's work. She finds inspiration from the function of the space and the contrast between the luminous artificial light and hard edged geometric architecture. Through model making, photography and installation she develops ideas and plans for her paintings, challenging conventions of perspective to blur the lines between reality and illusion.
Within subway spaces there exists a conflict between invitation and exclusion due to the contrast between artifical light and hard edged geometrical architecture. Helen's paintings are developed through both revealing and obscuring what has previously been depicted, she equates this to the experience of the city, constantly changing, with decay and development happening side by side.
The abstract works are developed by layering acrylic glazes of colour. Helen loves the process of painting, taking time to develop, layering colours, letting areas dry and then adding more glazes to achieve a desired colour or effect. The vibrancy of the work is not an exaggeration of the reflections found in the city spaces if you take the time to look.
The photorealist pieces are created using oil on board and require a different type of technical skill to the abstract works. These pieces are inspired by photographs that she has taken, the images that she works from must tell a story and have visual interest, whether it be the objects in the photos or the way that the architecture frames a scene.
Helen is well known for her commissioned work, whether it be personally crafted abstract or realist art on behalf of a client or simply capturing a beloved family pet. Helen has a talent for tailoring her work around the indivdual needs of each and every client, personally.