Shelter Penta III

Part of my " Shelter" body of work which has been progressing since June 2022. It can be hung as a stand-alone painting or displayed as a triptych with the other Penta pieces

With each new set of paintings, I have been exploring abstraction, colour and texture, using the drawings made from life in my garden in the early part of 2022.

I have started to make small simple diagrams from the original drawings. These 5cm square, simple line works help me organise shape, composition, shape and negative space., before scaling up onto the painted panels.

This group of 3 panels is called Penta. When I was living in Bermuda I visited a Bermuda garden owned by Peter who was a piano teacher. It was a quiet, magical place in an area of the island called appropriately Fairylands. He had a collection of old Bermuda roses. Roses are tricky to grow on the island due to the high salt content in the air, so having a collection was extraordinary. Peter was extremely kind and allowed me to paint in this hidden and very special place. His devotion to his garden inspired me. He told me how he got started. His home had originally had a somewhat typical Bermuda garden. Grass and a clump of Bird of Paradise. A friend came to dinner with a bunch of Penta. He left them in the water and they grew roots. He stuck them in the ground and they grew. He was hooked, I also suspect he has very green fingers.

Since moving to Australia I have always tried to have a few Pentas in pots. They always remind me of Peter and his beautiful; garden at " In the Lee".

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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.