Helena's Art Studio
Welcome to Helena O'Connor's Official Artist Website!
About me
Helena O'Connor
Hi, my name is Helena O Connor and I am an Irish visual artist. Sketching surroundings and family as a young child was the start of my interest in art. Even though I took up art in secondary school, unfortunately I decided to drop art as a subject after just one year.
It was not until late in life that I returned to art. In 2007, I attended a drawing class, which was followed by a two-year part time arts and craft course in Moate business College. After finishing this course, I decided to attend G.M.I.T. in County Galway where I received my degree in painting.
When I had finished college in 2016, I took 2 years out although I still painted a little. I also set up an artist group with a colleague, where five artist come together to paint every Thursday and Friday in ‘Tuar Ard Arts Centre’ In Moate.
I love painting because it offers me escapism from the problems of today’s world. I am an abstract painter and while I have painted different themes, I find I always return to abstract. When I am painting, it is as if I am brought to a different world, a world without problems or fears. A world where any thoughts, emotions or anxiety dissolve as you paint but then there is also times when I feel I am not in the right mind set to paint and these time always lead to arguments and conflicts between the painting and I.
Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, Hoffman and Miro influence my work.
Artist Statement
My artistic journey resonates with the principles of abstract art, focusing on conveying emotions, ideas, and sensations rather than adhering to a specific subject. The most important element in my abstract paintings is the interplay of colour and form. Colours and form serve as my language, influenced by the greats like Matisse, Picasso, Miro, and Hofmann, whose profound work speaks to the very core of the human soul.
Painting is my escapism, an outlet, where I can release my emotions and thoughts into every brushstroke and mark. When I paint, I am transported to another world, a utopia, away from all the challenges that life throws at us.
I want each observer to see the vibrancy in my colours and feel the emotions in my paintings, so that they too can be transported to their personal haven, to find their inner peace, their utopia.
Biography
Athlone native Helena O'Connor did not pursue art until late in life. Her use of numerous themes and diverse mediums demonstrate that she is not limited to any one style or medium. O'Connor deliberately does not title her paintings, leaving them open to interpretation. Colour and geometrical form, inspired by Matisse, Miro, Hofmann, Picasso and Kandinsky, play a major part in her strong vibrant paintings. Conveying the perception of space by combining organic form with geometrical shapes, O'Connor successfully engages the viewer. She attended drawing classes in 2007, followed by a part-time two-year course in. Art and Crafts at Moate Business College. O'Connor then earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. A short time after graduating from college, O'Connor, along with her colleague Loretta Costello, set up a painting group in Tuar Ard, Moate, called 'Combined Artists'. In addition to attending 'Lodestar School of Art' a hybrid residency led by internationally recognised artist and critics from Europe and the USA, O'Connor has completed a wide variety of workshops. Some of which include progress art, drawing, sign writing, painting and printmaking, which incorporated collagraph, etching and chine collé along with many other, print techniques. Group exhibitions include those at the Centre for Creative Arts and Media in Galway, Lodestar School of Art in France, RDS in Dublin and closer to home, the Luan Gallery, with Athlone Arts Group.
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Get in Touch!
Thank you for your interest. For any inquiries, please feel free to contact me today by completing the below form.