In Thanks to Helen Van Wyk

One of my very favorite artists is Helen Van Wyk.  Her talented career ended with her early death in 1994 at age 64 but many are fortunate to enjoy her books and get to know her from her famous television series.  Her shows are now rerun on our local Public Broadcasting Station and I faithfully watch or record her show each Friday.  I own several of her books including her wonderful Color Recipes which has proved to be a very valuable tool when searching for the perfect way to portray something I am working on.  I was fascinated by a recent show in which she painted several glass containers.....what a wonderful lesson I learned watching her.  The lesson here was NOT to paint the container!  She simply put in some very well placed highlights and shadows and voila a glass container appeared.  Such is the magic that can happen on a canvas when you know what you are doing!  If her show is available in your area you might want to take a look - her weekly show was called "Welcome to my Studio" .  I recall Helen often saying that it doesn't matter what we paint - whether it is a still life, portrait or landscape - the technique is always the same and the artist can paint any subject matter.  I always believed that I could not paint flowers and I certainly can never paint them the way Helen did but taking her advice I recently completed my first floral and using her simple style of determining a shape, putting in the darks, adding the highlights and with fingers (or should I say brushes) crossed I actually produced two believable pink carnations.

 PINK DELIGHTS by Nancy Craig

 Thank you Helen! Now I recognize that they look nothing like ones she would have painted but she did give me the courage to try and I am grateful.