About Helen

I paint because life demands a response—and painting is mine.

Based in Moray in the north of Scotland, I am surrounded by shifting skies, tidal edges, wide stretches of water and wild flowers holding their own in the landscape. I’m drawn to the small moments that stop us in our tracks: sunlight moving across a surface, stones polished by the tide, an unexpected flash of colour. They remind me of the wonder of nature—and of the extraordinary gift of being alive and able to notice it.

I carry these impressions back to the studio, but I don’t try to reproduce what I have seen. Memory loosens things, colour heightens them and the familiar landscape begins to slip towards something more imagined. What remains is often a feeling, a rhythm or the trace of a place.

My way of working is physical, intuitive and playful. I pour, brush, scrape, splash and draw. I bury marks and uncover them again, turn paintings upside down and follow accidents to see where they might lead. It is a conversation between instinct and intention, chaos and calm. A painting begins to come alive when it starts to surprise me.

I trained in Fine Art at Edinburgh College of Art and have spent many years teaching Art and Design alongside developing my studio practice. Painting and teaching both begin with curiosity: asking “what if?” and following an idea without knowing exactly where it will end.

This spirit continues through my workshops, where I encourage people to experiment, take creative risks and trust their own responses. Through both my painting and teaching, I hope to invite others to pause, look more closely and reconnect with the colour, mystery and vitality of the natural world.