Helen Hendry

I am a contemporary watercolour artist based in Hampshire, England. My work explores recovery, resilience and the often complex process of rebuilding and becoming.
After many years of making art alongside a very different professional career, in 2026 I made the decision to devote myself fully to my artistic practice and established Hendry Studios.
I work primarily in watercolour, drawn to the medium for its combination of control and unpredictability. I use saturated colour, transparent washes and increasingly geometric forms to explore emotional experiences that can be difficult to express in words.
My Faces of Recovery series uses contemporary portraiture to explore different stages of healing — vulnerability, hope, acceptance, defiance and transformation. Alongside my figurative work, I use wildlife and the natural world as metaphors for movement, resilience and change.
My practice is increasingly moving towards larger-scale work, allowing colour, water and geometric structure to become more immersive and expressive.
Although much of my work grows from personal experience, I am interested in creating paintings that leave space for the viewer's own story. Recovery is deeply individual, but the experiences of loss, change, courage...

Independent Art Practice & Professional Development
Hampshire, United Kingdom
2016–present

Independent development of painting and printmaking practice through studio work, life drawing and continued practical study.

Training includes an evening course in acrylic painting and linocut printmaking, alongside ongoing development in watercolour, portraiture and contemporary figurative painting.

Resident Artist — THAT Gallery, Basingstoke, UK — 2026–present. Exhibiting artist within the artist-led gallery, including regular live painting in the gallery.

The Holy Art / Streeters Gallery, London, UK — 6–8 November 2026. Exhibiting Letting Go from the Faces of Recovery series.