I completely agree, a rejection from an instituion or group does not mean your art style is worthless or silly, or that you should give up your art. It just means it doesn't fit their criteria at the time. I'm so glad you have held onto your interest in pattern rather than discarding it. It is your unique style, and people obviously love it. Thank you Helen.
I think I mentioned before the excitement of one of our grandsons heading off to do his bachelor of fine arts and being totally disappointed, leaving it behind at the end of his second year. He said as long as he could write about the importance of a piece of art…even if it was a stick figure…the marks would be great. He’s now thriving as a tattoo artist with a growing clientele. So art school is definitely not the only measure of success, Thank you again Helen!
I'm with you Helen, I've always loved pattern, the more the merrier! My mom was a quilter and I used to make bracelets with my bead loom and so we spent a lot of time in craft shops looking for the perfect fabric/beads. There was something so satisfying about being surrounded by beautiful, patterned things.
Hey Helen, I want to appreciate how beautiful your art is and how beautiful your mind works in analyzing other artists artwork I've never scene someone decoding other's artwork with such simplicity and beauty... Love your videos! ❤️
I am so glad with your you tube videos. Your passion lift me up. Wonderfull to see someone like you, that tells about her art journey and in the same time I can learn from it.
I love the story about your childhood and seeing the fabrics in the stores. Have you ever designed fabrics? I think your art is perfect for it. It boggles my mind that anyone would be rejected to an art school. If there are too many applicants, expand, ffs! They will make more money. Art is far too subjective to pass or fail. You and your artwork are absolutely fabulous! This channel is food for my creative soul, and I'm just so happy to have found you. Love from Kansas, US
At primary school I had an American friend who was in London for a short stay as her dad was working here. When she left she gave me a drawing. It was a sheet of shapes coloured with felt pen and I remember the fuzzy texture of the paper. There were no outlines and the shapes butted against each other in rich deep blues greens reds purples covering the whole page. I don’t remember the drawing accurately but the way it made me feel. When I trace back my own art journey I am certain that my love of shapes started with that drawing. Your love of shapes certainly made me open my first of your videos and I have been watching ever since. Thank you Helen . I am currently doing your still life lab and have been transcribing Georgia O’Keefe for too long now! I need to move on to the next stage and transcribe another artist. I am really enjoying it.
Oh I am so glad you have leaned into the patterns, the patterns is what draws me to your art. Your outlook is awesome! Thank you for sharing the inspiring artists and their work.
I love patterns also. My Mom took me to the fabric section to pick out fabric and patterns for some of her special clothes she made. It was marvelous. I love the idea of you doing a series on trees. 😊
You had a lucky escape from art college!😆 I was told not to make ‘beautiful’ paintings and to ‘be ironic’. Most people leave there either never painting again or stay there and teach the same old nonsense! x
Lovely colorful ART 🤩 and what a beautiful giant sketchbook! 😃... I can't find a good affordable A3 sketchbook like yours 😢I can only find the Moleskine A3 but it's TOO expensive!!! 😫🙃
Helen, delightful sketchbook presentation - thank you! Question, if you do not mind, how do you keep the pages not sticking together in your sketchbooks? 🙏
Good question! So if I’m using acrylic paint I try to ensure it is as matte as possible…it’s the shine that makes pages stick..so something like an acrylic gouache or flat matte acrylic…or i sometimes use a smearing of cold wax medium or something like Dorlands wax over a completely finished sticky page..this really helps me..but other folk use candle wax or corn flour etc. the key is to cut down the shine…the glossier the paint the more likely it is to stick x
I work with a lot of colour and use pattern, shape and marks to bring order to the chaos I’ve created. The same as I cannot stop seeing images in random situations. Usually faces ? Not hoovering the carpet for a week because of illness left me with a wealth of inspiration? I think there’s a name for it? Jen
Gosh. That was an abrupt finish but I was very motivated by your video anyway. After listening about the history of pattern it makes me think of the Roman mosaics, the ancient Assyrian patterns in Greece and the medieval tile circles. They surround us and always have done ❎❌✖️❎❌✖️🤞🎌🎌
