Helen Clarke
Printmaker, Etcher & Painter (Bootenal, WA)

I was born in Western Australia and grew up on a farm in the wheatbelt. I became a teacher and an artist and gained a Diploma of Teaching and a Diploma of Printmaking in WA.

I want to create more understanding of the necessity to conserve our unique environment. My current and ongoing works are hand-coloured etchings of native fruits, seeds and pods and reduction linoprints exploring the flora of Australia.

I teach people to use printmaking as a creative medium to explore visual ideas.

Throughout my career I have maintained active community involvement among printmakers and as a community artist, and have gallery outlets in Western Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory and Victoria.
Over 30 years I have taken part in numerous exhibitions in WA, Tasmania, NT and Queensland. Recent solo shows have been held at Olive Pink Botanical Garden in Alice Springs with another planned for August 2011 at Kingfisher Gallery, West Perth.

My work is held in corporate collections of BankWest, Mallesons, Alcoa World Aluminium and WA Shire Councils as well as private collections in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK, Ireland and Japan.

My professional experience includes seven years lecturing at the WA School of Art, Design & Media, current ongoing lecturing at Durack Institute of Technology, working in the studio of WA Printmaker Leon Pericles for over ten years, three Primary School Residencies, participating in two Art Exchanges with UK artists to mark the Whitbread Round the World Races and a commission to produce 200 etchings to mark the opening of the R&I Bank Tower in Perth.

Recent achievements include having a piece chosen as a finalist in the annual Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize at the Museum of South Australia; having an image purchased by Alcoa World Alumina as the centrepiece image for the 7th International Alumina Quality Workshop in held in Perth, Western Australia, prizes in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Mullalyup Endangered Species Exhibition, Morawa Art Award and People’s Choice at Mundaring Art Centre Christmas Exhibition.

Artists Statement:
I am a printmaker working in the mediums of linocuts, etchings and mixed media. I am concerned about the fragility of the environment and the viability of species affected by climate change and I would like my artworks to contribute to the appreciation of and understanding about the local and distant natural world surrounding us.

I am particularly fascinated with the forms, textures, colours and shapes of Australian plants and how they interact within the environment. My interest is broad and I grow native plants from seed and study their similarities and differences. I always begin with explorations in the bush with a camera. Images are taken back to the studio, identified, investigated and organised and in my studio, I interpret them particularly using the medium of reduction linocut which I push to the limit. Each limited edition handmade print has up to 18 layers of colour. It is a challenge to interpret a plant such as ‘Mulla Mulla’, which has distinct differences in colour and texture between the flowers and the soil on which it grows.

For information on how to purchase / commission work, please visit my website below. Gallery enquiries welcome - I can also be contacted on 08 9923 3613.

Contact Helen Clarke
Visit Helen Clarke's website