Pink Zinnias are the Colour of Summer

I completed a year-long self directed artist residency at a local flower farm in May 2024. Artist residencies run globally, hosted in a wide variety of venues, from museums to national parks. It is a chance for an artist to spend an extended and usually intense period in a specific place, making work as a visual response to that particular location. I loved my time at The Acres, hanging out with the dogs, bees and birds. There has been something new to draw or paint every week. When a new row of flowers appears I experience pure joy. My work has developed beyond any expectation and blossomed. I have always been attracted to places which seem to possess a spirit, a genius loci. This body of work seeks to explore, extend and share that feeling of this very special place.
I started this year-long project in May 2023 with drawing and photography. I drew in the gardens and flower fields for almost 2 months before I started to paint en plein air. My sketchbook drawings were developed into studio paintings. I filled 6 sketchbooks during my year and now have a huge visual resource.
During the hot and wet Queensland Summer Zinnias were the only flowers which kept growing. They were so bright amongst the lush green of the farm. Often the bright pinks and oranges didn't look real they were so vivid. This painting was developed from my many drawings made of the zinnias during the long summer months.
Framed in natural meranti float frame, hand sanded and waxed. This painting is finished in a gloss medium which enhances the richly layered colours and texture of the work. This painting is finished in a gloss medium which enhances the richly layered colours and texture of the work. If you would prefer a satin finish wax can be applied to provide a soft satin finish. Please indicate your preference.
Please note frame and signature details are generic and not this particular painting but are indicative of frame and initials on front. Paintings are also signed in pencil on the back.

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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.