Be Here Now III

I have spent time recently looking at my practice and realised that I have come around in a circle. I have been down a few dead ends and circled some cul de sacs. When I was finishing my MA I started using gardens as a source of imagery. I find myself 30 years later looking at my garden once again. This time it is a garden that has been planted from scratch with many hours of toil and much sweat. It is Queensland.

I have spent many hours drawing the plants and flowers which surround our back veranda. Many of them remind me of places I have lived and family who are no longer with us. I have drawn my begonias over and over during my most recent 100-day project. I love begonias and they remind me of my Dad. Each year he would plant up pots and hanging baskets and my childhood garden was a riot of colour during the summer months. There would always be begonias. I painted them many times en plein air when I first lived in Bermuda. I always think the flowers look like little faces peeping out from the leaves.

Nearly every house I have lived in has had plants in pots. Before we owned a house I would have plant pots which would be moved every time we did. I dreamt of a large garden which I now have but i still love the intimacy of plants in pots.

I used to only plant annuals in pots, the burst of colour was satisfying. However I now mainly have perennials, developing a more lasting relationship with my plants. Although occasionally I will succumb to some pansies or snapdragons.

I love the tenacity of my potted plants. They get way more care than anything in the garden. My rule is once you are in the ground you are on your own. We live on an acreage property and rely on rainwater for our water supply. Watering the plant pots seems like a luxury when the weather has been dry.

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Helen has been a practising artist since completing an MA in Textiles at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is a full-time artist and tutor, working and teaching from her purpose-built studio set on 9 rural acres in Cedar Creek, northside of Brisbane.She lived and worked in Bermuda for many years before settling in SE Queensland. Her work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions in the USA, Canada, The Caribbean, the UK, Bermuda, Europe, Russia and Australia, it can be found in private, corporate and public collections.

Helen's art is bursting with exuberant colour and texture realised in acrylic on board.Her work begins with observational drawings on location developed into lushly layered paintings in the studio. Her work explores genius loci, seeking to find echoes and connections to other places and spaces. Her love of landscape and gardens nurtures ancestral connection and is a central theme of her practice. Her textile training is evident in the marks, pattern, texture and colour of her work.

She completed a year-long artist-in-residence at a local flower farm in May 2024. Her time at the farm produced a major body of work of plein air landscapes and botnical studio paintings. She spent the year drawing and painting on location. Her drawings were developed into richly textured paintings in the studio.

Helen's practice is realised in acrylic on ply. The majority of her work is finished with 3 coats of gloss medium. This enhances the complex layers of paint and colour in the work. If you would like a stain finish please message Helen and she can apply a soft wax to render a satin finish.