Spotlight is on Helen Wheatley

 

Coming Home

Who?   Helen Wheatley

Helen Wheatley grew up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and moved to Florida’s Space Coast in 1995.

Inspired by the beauty of the area, Helen started painting watercolors in 1999.  She used her own photographs as reference to create beautiful florals, vivid still life and other scenes.

 

Helen then expanded her artistic expression by working more abstractly and introducing collage and acrylics into her paintings. She has begun to work in clay and also enjoys Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) where she has completed the course of studies in the Sogetsu school. 

Her latest work, a series of mixed media abstracts is very popular.  Helen has won numerous awards for her various styles and mediums.

Helen co-founded the Art Gallery of Viera in 2009.  The gallery is currently located at The Avenue, Viera and represents about twenty eight of the finest artists in Brevard County.

Helen is a member of Central Brevard Art Association, Florida Watercolor Society, Titusville Art League, Strawbridge Art League, International Society of Experimental Artists, International Society of Acrylic Painters-Florida and Brevard Cultural Alliance.

Learn more about Helen and her art at

www.HelenWheatley.com

www.artgalleryofviera.com

A little more about her, in Helen's words...

What medium do you prefer and why?

Lately I prefer mixed media, because it allows me the freedom to use whatever I feel is necessary to complete my piece

What inspires or motivates you to create your art and what does your art mean to you?

I create art because it is in me.  I get uneasy when I can't create.  My art is an expression of whatever I'm feeling.  I don't try to create something, I just allow the creation to happen.  Sometimes my work is bright and cheery, sometimes it is dark.  Sometimes it is very chaotic and sometimes it is very tight and clean.  It just depends on where I'm at and what I'm experiencing. 

What makes your art unique?

My art is a result of everything I have learned over the years and I have pursued many, many classes and workshops in various styles and mediums so that I would not be bound by the limits of a few specific instructions.  I mix all that I have learned and throw in some experimentation of my own to create work that is uniquely my own. 

----

Please stop by the Strawbridge Art League and Gallery at 819-2 East Strawbridge Ave in HIstoric Downtown Melbourne to see more of Helen's work.

Life Among the Stars