Botanical Beauty

Watercolorist Helen Campbell focuses on the lighting and form in her floral artwork.

United Kingdom-based artist Helen Campbell first picked up a paintbrush in 2009 not knowing what subject she would paint. She eventually decided to focus on flowers but found the loose painting style required wasn’t for her, so she turned to botanical art. In 2012, Campbell left her job in the legal world to become a full-time artist.

“I bought a few art books and began working ‘wet in wet,’ immersing myself in this newfound hobby—however, I was always disappointed with the results,” she says of working prior to her art career. “I needed the work to be much more structured and tight. So, after a good deal of practice, I developed my famous ‘wiggle and pull’ technique, a method that I now teach to my students.”

Technical elements are important to the artwork Campbell creates, such as light and shade. “We forgot that art is not just about form—tonal value and contrast play a very important role. While the correct composition is critical, portraying my subject so that it is both botanically accurate and commercially appealing makes this a daunting prospect yet magnetic in its appeal,” she says.