Helen Louise Rose

I have been painting much of my life, as did my father and one of my grandfathers. I first discovered pastel at school, but I preferred other mediums. Then in the 1970’s my mother found a box of  ‘authorised Education Department’ Greyhound pastels in her cupboard. Using pastel was a revelation. It seemed so flexible and forgiving, after watercolour.

I began to research some French pastellists like Chardin, Quentin de la Tour, Degas and the American, Mary Cassatt, and created some paintings ‘d’apres’ these great artists. In France I went to the pastel section of the Louvre so often that one of the guards recognised me and sometimes stood behind me as I studied the art works there!

I taught languages and English at Secondary level, but one art teacher asked me to mentor one of her students who had chosen pastel as her medium.

In brief, I am self-taught rather than taught, although I did study using pastels briefly in a class. I am grateful for the insight it gave me into the use of different supports.

Online I have continued my research and discovered the pastellists of the ‘Young Poland Movement’, Alfons Mucha and the recent exhibition of French artists (2023) at the Gare D’Orsay Museum. Australian artists who have used this medium such as Janet Cumbrae-Stewart, Marion Jones, Hans Heysen and Hilda Rix-Nicholas are equally inspiring.

I hope you enjoy some examples of my work.

Email : helenlrose@bigpond.com