BUSHLAND VIEW

HELEN RICHARDS

Helen Richards is a visual artist based in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland, creating vibrant, lyrical landscapes that celebrate the natural world. She studied Art through high school and then trained as a Primary Teacher, majoring in all the art subjects she could take. After studying an Associate Diploma in Textile, Print and Design, she was able to transfer across to become a secondary educator and also completed post grad studies in Film and TV. As a visual arts teacher, she developed her skills in painting, which led to dalliance in using oils and eventually a love of acrylics and mixed media. Upon retiring, Helen has become a full-time artist, participating in many art exhibitions around Queensland and her art works are in homes all around Australia and in the UK.

Working primarily in acrylic, her playful and stylised paintings invite viewers to reconnect with nature and embrace a sense of wonder. Helen's work is influenced by her textile background: rich in pattern, texture, and bold colour and often outlined in black or white to heighten contrast and energy. Her process begins outdoors with photography and sketching before evolving in the studio into works that blend observation and imagination. The works are a conversation with the land, where she lives and what surrounds her: trees, gardens, ocean mangroves, mountain ranges and rural landscapes are her constant sources of inspiration. Helen feels trees in particular are magnificent beings and that capturing them on canvas feels like a kind of worship.