- About Helen
- Paprylic Explained
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When I was born in the Hampshire village of Hedge End in 1959, it was a small village with a handful of essential shops, surrounded by beautiful unspoilt countryside. My first home was a wooden framed bungalow, constructed during the war to house the army.
I grew up in this village at a time when it was deemed safe for children to roam, unaccompanied. After receiving a second hand bicycle for Christmas (which had to be shared with my sister of course), I would spend hours at weekends and after school traversing the many small country lanes that were far removed from my life on a council estate. |
Hedge end is now sadly an extension of Southampton, but the lanes still exist at Durley, where I spent so much of my childhood, cycling and admiring the many thatched cottages and ponies, which inspired my early artwork. |
My love of the countryside and painting never waned, and at the age of 36, it was with great excitement that I moved to the New Forest with my new husband Bill, and 5 children. After the break up of my first marriage, there would be a completely new start. With Bill, our daughter Katie, aged 6 months, Bill’s daughter Suzie and 3 children from my first marriage, Antony (10), the twins, Marcus and Michaela (8), we all moved to the beautiful 16th Century, Thatched Cottage, on the Northern edge of the New Forest. |
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| Above: Helen Waygood, Right: Croft Cottage |
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For some years this small cottage was bursting at the seams. Bill and I shared our bedroom with the 2 youngest (Florence was born in the cottage just over a year after moving in). Gradually the children grew older and some have “flown the nest”, leaving time and space to paint again! Once Florence started school, I joined a local group of artists who meet regularly and eventually the group “Take 10 Artists” was formed.
Bill and I now run a successful bed and breakfast and camping business at Croft Cottage, and with the planned addition of a garden room with art studio above, I will have every ingredient needed to fulfil my artistic ambitions. |
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Above: Helen Painting |
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Paprylic is a mixture of paper and acrylic paint. This creates a tough and durable substance which I have then sculpted to form the desired effect. This has then been painted again in acrylic paint. The final product is a combination of both painting and "sculpture". As with any painting it is primarily visual art, but with the added sensual delight of being tactile friendly. |
"I enjoy adding tissue paper to my acrylic paintings, this gives a wonderful texture to the painting, and it is possible to sculpt it into 3D - I call these my paprylic paintings."
"Painting is a very relaxing and theraputic pastime, and I like to think that my work reflects my bright and positive personality." |
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Above: Poppies and Daisies, Below: Matching Accessories |
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