Helen Lucas

Helen Lucas, a graduate of O.C.A., began her painting career by using only black paint and restricted her imagery to wonderful figurative work. Her canvasses were filled with somber emotion and yet great strength. She worked in oil for most of her earlier career, later switching to acrylic paint in the late 1970’s. Her images began to take the form of flower petals in the early eighties, and miraculously the colour emerged. She needs to work large so the colour literally explodes on the canvas. She works from real bouquets of flowers and puts in ten-hour days in order to capture the freshness and colour before the flowers fade. Therefore the canvases are spontaneous and gutsy. From these incredible paintings, Helen has produced a series of Giclee prints on archival paper. Even scaled down, her prints are captivating explosions of colour.

Helen always says, that she does not paint flowers but what flowers mean to her. Her honesty and integrity in her vision in unique. The imagery is a universal one and bridges the relationship between artist and viewer. The size and scale of her paintings convince the viewer that the subject is grander than reality.

“The flower paintings say something about life, your own life, and your feeling about life in general. The proclamation of joy in the midst of our frightening world will not be missed by anyone with eyes to see and a heart to understand.”

Margaret Lawrence,
Canadian Writer

“The joy of colour and light fills Helen’s canvases, which at once float and dance with lightness of spirit.”

Ernestine Tahedl,
Canadian Artist

“Colour was not given to us in order that we should imitate nature. It was given to us so that we can express our emotions.”

Henri Matisse