“All art is but dirtying the paper delicately.”
Having lived in Gloucestershire, England, for most of her life, Helen Davison Bradley (b. 1974) graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Cheltenham & Gloucester College in 1998. She ran her own successful graphic/website design studio for many years until she embarked on a career as a figurative painter in 2010.
Helen began studying at the Sarum Studio in Salisbury to pursue a more rigorous education in draughtsmanship. Here, she learned traditional drawing and painting methods whose origins date back to the seventeenth century – a way of working nearly lost in the twentieth century as the naturalistic tradition of working from life fell out of favour.
In a time of so much noise and activity, Helen believes that the hard work and dedication required to work in this challenging tradition is as powerful as ever and welcomes a return to good, 'old-fashioned' painting. It takes concentration and thoughtfulness to respond to nature – be it a portrait, still life or landscape. It is not an exercise in copying precisely what is in front of you but of essential selection: a philosophy of seeing that allows the artist to make choices over many hours as the light and conditions change.
Awards
2020 Winner of the Small Painting Prize, Bath Society of Artists
2018 Winner of the Minerva Best Portrait Prize, Bath Society of Artists
2017 Winner of the Ian Black Small Painting Prize, Bath Society of Artists
2016 Discerning Eye Chairman’s Purchase Prize Winner, ING Discerning Eye
2016 Winner of the Meltone Gallery Framing Prize Award, Bath Society of Artists
Memberships
Bath Society of Artists (BSA)
Exhibitions
Bath Society of Artists (BSA) Annual Exhibition, Bath 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2021, 2023, 2024
Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) Annual Exhibition, London 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Annual Exhibition, London 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021
ING Discerning Eye Annual Exhibition, London 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020
Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) Annual Exhibition, London 2015, 2020, 2021
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 208th Exhibition, London 2020, 2021
‘A Change of Season’ Group Show, The Gallery, Holt, Norfolk 2020
RWA Annual Exhibition, Bristol 2014, 2019
Broadway Arts Festival, Little Buckland Gallery, Worcestershire 2018
Cotswold Open Studios, Cirencester 2015
Society of Women Artists – 153rd Annual Exhibition, London 2014