I’m drawn to the quiet moments that reveal who we are beneath the surface — gestures, silences, and fragments of emotion born of genuine conversation. I work slowly, spending time listening, observing, and finding the rhythm of another person's presence. Each painting feels like a small act of reverence: a contemporary devotional. I often invite sitters to bring an object that holds meaning — something that carries memory or legacy. They shape the work's atmosphere, even if they never appear in the image.

Pattern and decorative detail enter the paintings as another means of narration. Drawing on traditions of embroidery, beading and ornament, they bring a sense of care and deep attention to the surface. Pattern becomes a quiet storytelling thread — a way of holding aspects of a sitter's heritage, history or inner life. It allows space for what can't always be precisely described.

The surfaces of my paintings often carry their own history. I scrub back and rework them, allowing earlier marks to re-emerge, as if uncovering traces of a life already lived. This physical process mirrors the emotional one — revealing what lies beneath, layer by layer.

Ultimately, I want the work to offer space for recognition, where viewers might find echoes of their own lives in another's story and feel a sense of shared experience.

Helen is a British artist whose practice reflects her deep interest in human presence, emotion, and the layered nature of memory. Her paintings balance tender observation with an intuitive, tactile approach, often revealing traces of earlier marks and gestures within the final surface.
She studied Fine Art in Middlesbrough, Canterbury, and Newcastle, earning a BA and an MA before teaching at Cleveland College of Art for ten years. After a successful career in Interior Design, she returned to painting, developing a body of work that combines profound attention with emotional sensitivity. Helen’s current project in Middlesbrough is in response to last year's riots. The series explores stories of migration, belonging, and community, portraying people whose lives reflect the area’s cultural diversity and resilience. Through these works, she continues to examine how identity is shaped by place, history, and human connection.
Her work has recently been exhibited with the Society of Women Artists, the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Women in Art, Wells Contemporary, and ING Discerning Eye. 

She continues to attract both private and public commissions in the UK and abroad.