Born in County Durham, Helen Lush trained at Loughborough College of Art and Design, leaving with an Honours Degree in Textile Design in 1982. She moved to South Wales in 1984 and lives in Cardiff to the present day. Helen is a member of the group of artists who have run the Cardiff Gallery, Oriel Makers, since 1991 and regularly exhibits new work in her Summer Shows there as well as other galleries. In 2004 she took time out to gain a qualification in Garden Design and to travel to India and Italy all of which have made an impact on her work.

Helen works in pencil, pastel and watercolour, drawing inspiration from the texture, colour and mood she finds in her subjects and from the qualities peculiar to the media themselves. Landscapes, gardens, flora and street scenes are all given a semi-abstracted treatment. Often, a fascination with the subject will result in it being painted many times, variations being developed from peculiarites in the initial wash of watercolour.

In recent years Helen has been working on a series of paintings and drawings which reflect her love of plants and gardens. Many of these works dramatise single flower heads against intense colour. This collection of work is entitled "Botanica" and new examples were exhibited at the RHS Spring Flower Show in Cardiff and in the exhibition "Botanica 3" in Oriel Makers in 2009. In early 2010, Helen and a fellow artist, Louise Young, formed the group "Roath Botanic Garden Artists", which aims to "Illustrate, record and celebrate the plant life of Roath Botanic Garden and other Cardiff parks and natural environments, through painting and drawing". The group plans to exhibit every two years, starting with an exhibition in Oriel Makers from 12th November to 24th December this year. See Commissions page if you would like to commission a bespoke painting. Many of the paintings featured on this site are also available as reproductions and greetings cards through the Red Bubble website - take a look at the "Reproductions and Cards" page.