Helen Booth — ART PRESENCE

Which 3 words best define how you would like your art to be perceived ?

BEAUTIFUL / CONTEMPLATIVE / ENGAGING

What creative challenge have you faced and overcome that has transformed your art practice?

Having the determination to just keep going – even when things have been so financially difficult. From the outside, being an artist is a wonderfully free and aspirational lifestyle. It is full of hardship and knock backs. It’s tough being an artist – but I can’t imagine ever doing anything different with my life.

What tools do you use as part of the preliminary stages of your process?

I don’t use sketchbooks – I jump straight in. Photographs help me to orchestrate my palette, and I keep notes of ideas as I go along. I have a printing press that I use like a sketchbook, I create prints to help me with composition and to formulate my ideas.

How do you usually start an art session - any habits or rituals?

I paint every day. I’m usually in my studio around 9 in the morning and I work through until about 6. I take an occasional office day to keep on top of admin and social media posts. I am a chaotic painter – my studio gets in such a mess – so 3 times a year I have a real purge, where I ruthlessly tidy up and paint the whole place white. It’s a very cathartic process.

With which intentions do you infuse your art?

My core message is to try to capture a sense of Beauty. Not a physical beauty but an idea of the Sublime, a spirituality, a tangible object that offers a meditative pause.

How do you deal with doubts and fears?

I have been painting for over 30 years. I’ve applied to many competitions, opens and awards and dealt with so many rejections that I’ve developed a thick skin. It’s part of being an artist. I think every artist has doubts. I spend so much time by myself creating work and fear often creeps in, but I just paint through these feelings. If I create work that isn’t good I paint over it.

Do you specifically schedule time for your art practice?

I live and work in an old woollen mill in South West Wales in the UK. I am a full time working artist. It’s what I do.

Where do you draw your color inspiration from?

I love the drama of the landscapes of Iceland. I am drawn to the colours of snow and ice. I find the power of nature in these monochromatic landscapes so inspiring. My palette has always been muted and gentle. I very rarely use colour in my work – and if I do it’s always by itself with either black or white.