Helen paints from her imagination using images from stories and poems and inspired by the landscape around her home in rural Scotland and the seascape of the West coast. She will often begin to paint with a particular colour combination in mind or an atmosphere to create however the outcome is unpredictable as she allows the painting to take on a life of its own.

Working in oils Helen starts with a base of collage and raw sienna wash. She uses large brushes and printing rollers to achieve a free, textured background before refining composition and details. It is an expressive way of working, of building on paint marks and accidents until the particular painting begins to have a voice of its own.