Visit Nottingham-born artist Helen White as part of Open Studios trail

NOTTINGHAM-BORN artist Helen White paints mostly in oils (her first love), acrylics and some watercolours and is completely self-taught, having first picked up a paintbrush when chronic health issues forced her to reappraise everything and give up office work 20 years ago. Those first tentative marks on a canvas, which make her smile to think back to as they almost made her give up, led to a regular art practice that was more like a meditation than hard work and which helped to manage pain levels from living with Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.

A chance conversation with a prestigious gallery in Hampshire led to her being given her first artist profile in an exhibition, the first of many. Over the years she has exhibited in London, numerous galleries across several counties and even in the States where she has won a clutch of awards, now one of the places where her work is most popular. For almost twenty years, she was a member of Henley Arts Guild and took part in their annual arts trail. She was approached by Bridgeman Library over a decade ago and has since licensed work all over the world, with artworks appearing in glossy mags such as Vogue, used by household names, featured in books and, of course, sold as prints and cards.

Helen lived in Berkshire for 37 years after she moved there for university and “life just happened” but, since the beginning of last year, has made her home in Farnsfield to be nearer to her family and back in the county that always feels closest to her heart. A love of Southwell drew her to the area and she is now throughly enjoying village life in Farnsfield, already finding new inspiration there.

Her artworks share the common theme of looking towards the light in a subject, seeking out those moments of radiance that lift the spirits and encourage positivity. Subjects include gardens and floral themes, window scenes, landscapes and animal themes. She continues to paint as often as her health will allow and looks forwards to taking part in the Open Studio trail this May, putting Farnsfield on the map.

Helen’s “studio” will be open to visitors on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th May from 11 – 5 and can be found close to the tennis courts in Farnsfield (see https://www.osnotts.co.uk/ for more details and a map).

Website www.helenwhite.org

Instagram @helenwhiteartist