Sue Helmot is a Melbourne born artist who has lived in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia since 2008.  Sue paints full-time from her studio in the remote town of Carnarvon and en plein air in rural and outback landscapes where she lives.

Living a pared back country lifestyle in Carnarvon affords Sue time to focus on her practice as a landscape painter.  Sue’s intrigue with both rural and outback landscapes that surround her home is the main inspiration for her work.  A reoccurring theme in Sue’s work is capturing insights into how people on the land interact with their surroundings on which their livelihood often depends.  Her paintings share this  story with sensitivity.

Sue describes her art making process as a gentle journey.  It begins with spending time peacefully immersed in the landscape observing what’s going on within it. Once back in the studio, colour studies and sketches made on location meld with Sue’s memories to form ideas for new works.  Sue loves colour and paints in oils appreciating them for their beautiful pigments and buttery texture.  Their slow drying quality enables Sue to work back into her paintings over time, despite the warm climate in the north west.

Sue collaborated with the Gascoyne Food Council as their Artist in Residence during 2018 and 2019.  This work culminated her first sell-out solo exhibition From The Source: A Landscape of Food in 2018 and second successful solo exhibition Frontier of Food in 2019.

In 2019 an exhibition of Sue Helmot’s works was featured on the digital tower at Yagan Square in the CBD of Perth.

“Growing up with one brother a ceramicist and another a professional musician, art was a normal part of family life. I was encouraged to follow a passion to make art and at seventeen I started full time training as a visual artist. A path carved for what would become a life-long quest.” Sue Helmot

Sue Helmot’s Artist CV is listed below.

* Please note when searching Sue Helmot’s work online that her name is sometimes misspelt as Sue Helmet

Born in Melbourne, Sue Helmot relocated to Carnarvon Western Australia in 2008.  Sue’s practice as a visual artist progressed from part to full time in 2017 and continues to develop today.

Education

1984    Bachelor Arts Degree, Victoria College, Melbourne

1981    Diploma Art and Design, Box Hill Institute of TAFE, Melbourne

Solo Exhibitions

2019     Gascoyne Landscapes, Yagan Square Digital Tower, City of Perth

2019     Frontier of Food, Carnarvon Regional Gallery

2018     From The Source: A Landscape of Food, Carnarvon Regional Gallery

Selected Group Exhibitions

2019     York Art Awards

2019     Kondinin Acquisitive Prize

2018     Fifty Square, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne

2016     Shark Bay Art Awards, Rose Freycinet Gallery

2014     Gascoyne Art Awards, Carnarvon Regional Gallery

2014     Shark Bay Art Awards, Rose Freycinet Gallery

2013     Inaugural Exhibition, Carnarvon Regional Gallery

2012     Shark Bay Art Awards, Rose Freycinet Gallery

2010     Art Show, Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage Cultural Centre

Artist Residencies

2019     Gascoyne Food Council, WA

2018     Gascoyne Food Council, WA

Press and Publications

2019     ABC Breakfast Radio interview with Vanessa Mills, 06/08/2019

2019     ABC National Rural News feature story, 6/08/2019

2019     ABC Mornings Radio interview with Michelle Stanley, August 2019

2019     Front cover and feature story in Ripe Magazine, September issue

2019     Feature story in Carnarvon and Coral Coast Destination Guide

Selected Projects

2020     Teacher, Propel Youth Arts and State Library of WA Sketchbook project, Carnarvon

2019     Mentor, Creative Grid Project, Regional Arts WA

2012     Artist, State Library WA Better Beginnings Vietnamese Literacy Project

2009     Curator, Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage Cultural Centre