Richard Helland -Watercolors

Dick is a painter residing in Palantine, Illinois. Before pursuing painting, Dick had a successful career in graphic design and art direction in the fields of publishing and advertising. Most recently Dick served as Sr. V.P. Executive Creative Director in a major Chicago marketing agency and worked on many national consumer accounts.He has received numerous awards nationally and internationally for his graphic design.

Painting is my vehicle to creatively express and share my impressions of favorite experiences that I have had in my life. The process of painting is every bit as exciting and rewarding to me as is the finished painting. I am
more interested in conveying my impressions and capturing the emotional qualities of an experience than I am in rendering a realistic image. I hope that others will enjoy my interpretations of these experiences through my work.

I earned a B.F.A. in fine art from California College of Arts and Crafts in 2004 and lived in Sacramento where I maintained a ceramic studio and viewing area and performed metal work for the Art Foundry Gallery. My work has been exhibited in dozens of galleries throughout California and Wisconsin. I have completed commissions for murals, metal fabrication, and ceramic sculptures.I believe contemplation of oneʼs personal feelings is required to understand oneʼs true self. My works encourage serious reflection through emotional and psychological self-portraits. Through my work I aim to make sense of my own experiences using images accessible to a vast audience.Though deeply personal, the situations I express are universal and timeless. This approach provides the viewer with an interactive experience that sparks feelings they may be familiar with from their own lives. This ignites self-reflection and contemplation, which allows the audience to develop a lasting emotional relationship with the work.