Helena van Emmerik-Finn

"Pastel has been my main media for over fifty years. I've recently spent a lot of time painting en-plein air. Working outdoors has helped me so much in my studio work. I try to recreate the envelope of light and color that lets my subjects exist in space. I am also working with oil. It's been an exciting and informative addition for me.

The subject of my paintings is often a spark of color, compositional movement or strong contrasting light, rather than the scene depicted. The preliminary drawing process has become very important to me. Once I have established this strong foundation in my work, I intuitively and quickly apply color."

Helena’s family emigrated from Holland a few weeks before she was born and settled in upper Bucks County. She attended the Philadelphia College of Art where she studied graphic design, photography and film-making. After college, Helena traveled extensively, including back-backing and youth-hostelling through Europe, North Africa and India. She now lives in Doylestown, Bucks County, with her husband, Bob.