Artist Feature: Marie Helyar

ARTIST FEATURE

MARIE HELYAR

PHOTOGRAPHER TO FREEHAND-ARTIST

MARIE’S ARTISTIC JOURNEY STARTED WITH THE INSPIRATION OF NONE OTHER THAN BOB ROSS. LOOKING TO TAKE HER PHOTOGRAPHY IN A PAINTERLY DIRECTION, SHE BEGAN HER EXPLORATION INTO THE POSSIBILITIES.

Originally, Marie experimented with texture and composition but found herself still searching for something more. Then, Beyond the Brushes came into the picture. It was exactly what she wanted, but with no painting experience, she had reservations and doubts regarding her skillset. Obviously, she overcame her fears, and after 12 months, she is comfortable calling herself an artist, which is arguably the hardest critic to convince.

Marie’s progression has been rapid. A year is not an overnight transformation, but to paint completely freehand after such a short period of time is rare. And all of the ballerinas you see were created in just that fashion, freehand, but that’s not all. They are also paintings created from mind to screen — no reference image necessary. What could inspire the creation of such beautiful and flowing artwork? Coupled with the fact she has two granddaughters who love ballet, Marie found herself entranced by the body movement. Ballet requires discipline yet shirks rigidity in exchange for gracefulness, much like a painter and her brush. Marie started off just seeing if she could capture the movement drawing. From there, inspiration from Pinterest joined hand-in-hand with several of her ideas. She let the paint guide her as she twirled and swayed her brush across the screen, metamorphosing the drawing into the paintings you see before you.

On the technical side, Marie primarily used Brushy Goodness and Brayer throughout the paintings. Her color scheme developed as the work progressed but selecting a complementary color palette also played a part. Though trying to replicate the body movement posed a challenge, she was prepared because of a previous challenge she faced in the coursework.

Puppet Warp is not an easy lesson, even for those with more experience. There is more to it than meets the eye, and Marie’s foundation of limited Photoshop skills and no anatomy knowledge did not do her any favors. Needless to say, it was a big learning curve, but she played to her strengths of persistence and dedication. She was determined to master it.

Marie put in the time doing deliberate practice. She experimented with Puppet Warp and even studied human anatomy to improve her understanding of the body and its movements. It was this lesson, this struggle that provided Marie with the confidence to begin drawing freehand. She learned to truly see the body and its form. So, in the final stages of these paintings, seeing the body movement and the texture come together brought her great joy.

MARIE IS A RARE GEM. JOINING WITH NO EXPERIENCE, SHE DEDICATED TIME TO DELIBERATE PRACTICE. HER GAINED COMFORTABILITY AND CONFIDENCE ALLOW HER TO JUST LOSE HERSELF IN THE CREATION PROCESS. MARIE’S WORK CAN BE FOUND ONLINE AT MARIEHELYARPHOTOGRAPHY.COM