About the Artist
Helen Utsal is a Canadian artist creating large format works that are colourful loose renderings of nature.
Helen studied at Concordia University, in Montreal. Through school she worked as a studio assistant; underpainting large oil paintings, making grounds, sizes, frames and stretching canvases for two professional artists.
An IATSE member in Toronto, Helen has worked on dozens of feature films, such as X-Men as a scenic artist and painter. She also worked on independent films, television, music videos and commercials.
'Painting enormous scenic backdrops for movies really loosened me up, and allowed me to make the transition from realism to a more impressionistic style.'
Established in British Columbia since 2001, Helen's subject matter shifted from figurative to landscape. Best viewed from a distance, Helen's paintings reconstruct the landscape with popped up colour and expressive brushstrokes. Light and shadow, positive and negative space are expressed in blocks of scumbled colour.