From My Studio: Exploring Helen Alice Johnson’s Creative Process
Each week, Helen Alice Johnson takes inspiration from the natural world that surrounds her in Alston, Cumbria. Her paintings reflect the landscapes, gardens, and changing seasons, offering viewers a glimpse into the beauty of nature. In this blog, Helen shares the moments that spark her creativity, from a walk in the countryside to the sight of a flower blooming in her garden.
Adding Plastic to my seascape oil paintings
In this video I show how to apply plastic to a canvas and how I use beach combed plastics in my paintings as well as how I add sand from the beach at the Northumberland coast to create my seascape oil on canvas paintings. I also use sacred geometric patterns as underpaintings, which I then paint over the top with my seascapes inspired by Tynemouth and Newbiggin by the Sea as well as Hartley Bay on the North East Coast of England.
Lake Windermere Oil Painting in Progress - By Helen Alice Johnson
Another busy week in my French art studio this week as I complete a large garden painting commission as well as begin an oil painting of Lake Windermere in the Lake District. My elaborate underpaintings have taken a lot of time this week as I use geometric pattern to create a base for my unique landscape paintings. And this week I am heading to the South of France to check out Arles and the home of Van Gogh and Gaugin in their Yellow House, so make sure you subscribe to my channel to see updates of my art history tour this week.
The Artistic Influence of Beatriz Milhazes on Helen Alice Johnson
Beatriz Milhazes is a Brazilian artist with an exhibition on currently at Tate St Ives (until September 2024). I am particularly drawn to her paintings because of the similarities I see in my own work. Milhazes' studio is in Rio de Janeiro and as such she is influenced by the landscape around her and the botanical gardens of Rio de Janeiro.