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Bio

Helen grew up in New York City and attended the Art Students League. She studied portraiture and life drawing with an illustrator. Mixing every value of paint, trained her eye to capture the subtle shadings she relies on today. A BFA in painting completed her formal training and expanded Helen’s horizons. Working in oils, pastels and watercolor keeps her ideas fresh and subject matter varied. Ongoing study with Bob Gerbracht and workshops with Daniel Greene, Don Andrews, Claire Verbiest, Albert Handel and Teresa Saia, among others, have honed her skills. An 18 year career in the printing business, checking materials as they were being printed, has sharpened her eye even further. Helen’s observations are that "If the values are not quite right, a painting will not have the zing and contrast it should, even with lush color. Even the most technical painting should have a little bit of that unplanned dash of color or texture for it to be exciting to the viewer." Her greatest inspirations come from those momentary glances of light and changing color on a subject that creates a mood.

Formal Education
BFA Painting, Oregon State University, Corvallis 1980, With high honors
Year long studio classes at San Jose State University 1979-1980
Art Students League, New York, studied with Frank Reilly, Illustrator
Workshops as listed above

Work History
Electric Power Research Institute, Sr. Communications Consultant, Publications
      1989-1998, Conducted Press Checks and handled Production on High End Brochures
Bofors Lithography, 1988-1989, Commercial Printing Sales Representative
Banta Corporation, 1980-1988, Book Printing Sales Representative

Classes
Fall 2004, Discovering Pastel, Beginning and Intermediate Pastel at the Quinlan Center, City of Cupertino Parks and Recreation, 10185 N. Stelling Road Cupertino, 95014. 9/10--11/05, 8 weeks (408) 777-3120 for more information.