Walk down a country lane

I wanted to paint a scene which draws you into the scene, along the road and to the distant hills. I have displayed the soft light and shadows in pastel colours. The scene is painted entirely with palette knives and a silicone scraper rather than brushes, to achieve juicy, thick paint and interesting textures.

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Helen Garrott is a Melbourne-based artist working predominantly in oil and cold wax medium. Her practice explores abstracted landscapes that celebrate the interplay of light, colour and atmosphere. Rooted in a deep connection to the natural environment, her paintings evoke a sense of memory and place – balancing gestural spontaneity with quiet introspection.
Helen’s process involves the use of a palette knife more often than a brush, which allows the landscape to emerge organically – sometimes serene, sometimes turbulent – always with a keen sensitivity to colour harmony and compositional rhythm.
Alongside her art practice, Helen is also an ophthalmologist specialising in oculoplastic surgery. Her professional life in reconstructive and aesthetic eyelid surgery informs her visual discipline and eye for detail. The same attention she gives to anatomical subtlety in surgery finds expression in the nuanced balance of her paintings – where precision and intuition meet.
Helen’s dual career reflects her belief that both science and art share a common pursuit: clarity, beauty and transformation.