Georgia, USA. A native of Atlanta, she lived in the Northeast and studied art in New York and New Jersey following graduation from Emory University, where she studied Asian art history as well as art of the Middle Ages. You can see the influence of her early study which continues in her work. She is best known for her diversity, using various mediums in her practice. The breadth of her practice includes painting, drawing, making monotypes, and taking photographs.
Helen uses drawing and mark making to provide ideas for further investigation. Words, sounds, and rhythms are influential in her painting. Reading poetry and listening to music is an integral part of her daily practice. Though she never considered herself a Southern painter when she started painting, she now concentrates her attention on the landscape of her childhood that has changed so dramatically. Even the microscopic landscape is a focus for exploration. You will often see the bits and pieces of her landscape memory float through her paintings.
Painting with oil on panels, Helen often experiments with mixed mediums. Her contemporary
technique allows the creation of many thin layers applied so that the underlying layers are still
visible. She talks about time from the inside out as she plays across the surface with under layers
influencing what is seen when a painting is finished. The malleability of the mediums, the beauty
of the color, and the permanence of the surface are a great fit for the organic nature of the
images. The overall effect is one of contemplation and the paintings are often meditative in
character and tone.
Layers of memory, fragments of the present, notations of fragility and strength, expected and
unexpected rhythms, soft and highly saturated color and tactility are all crucial parts of the final images that you may expect to see.
