Helen Thomas: Hidden Nature

Helen Thomas is a visual artist based in Wakefield, UK, where she has a studio at The Art House. She explores themes of plants and place through drawing and painting. She works primarily from nature; exploring the tension between observing, documenting or recording moments of seeing/study and the idea of a spontaneous interpretation of the subject, this complements the practice of studio work from memory and reference material. Recent work focuses on self-seeded plants in the urban environment.

                     

"When I’m out and about working from direct observation I work in various combinations of watercolour, gouache, pencil and Inktense pencil on paper. I usually sit or kneel on the ground to sketch - along with a number of other factors this means that it’s often impractical to spend extended periods at a particular site. These materials allow me to grab whatever I need to capture the image fairly quickly and directly. In the studio I work mainly with acrylics on paper or board. I sometimes take acrylics out on site with me, particularly if I know that I’m heading to a site where I’ll be able to work undisturbed for a longer period of time.

Before lockdown I was working towards a solo exhibition at Wakefield Cathedral scheduled for late summer 2020. The exhibition was due to coincide with Wakefield Artwalk and with Heritage Open Days - this year’s theme is ’Hidden Nature’. I’m hoping the exhibition will still go ahead although the dates are now subject to change due to the Covid-19 situation.

My studio has been closed since lockdown began and so the large scale paintings that I was working on are on hold for the time being. Covid-19 restrictions also prevented me from working on site in direct response to plants in their environment. At first I was very restless, I felt a sense of separation and displacement as I was physically unable to pursue work in progress. However, I began to find ways of working in a very limited space and have been embracing the limitations as opportunities.

I miss working outside and having the space to move around and flit across different ideas and pieces in my studio. Despite this, I’m enjoying the changes that the stillness and condensed workspace necessitate and facilitate. I’m currently making small detailed paintings whilst looking at plan view digital images and my palette of paints is more considered and organised than I think it’s ever been."

To see more of Helen's work, you can visit her website, or find her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

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