Helen Tabor British, b. 1960
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Helen TaborFrom Ponte dell'AccademiaOil on board21 x 31 "£ 2,900.00
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Helen TaborPomeriggio di VeneziaOil on board27 x 27 "£ 3,600.00
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Helen TaborSorelle di VeneziaOil on board31 x 28 "£ 3,900.00
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Helen TaborBird WatchingOil on board11 x 13 "£ 1,100.00
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Helen TaborGathering Spring FlowersOil on board11.5 x 13.5 "£ 1,100.00
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Helen TaborSwimmersOil on board32.5 x 23 "£ 3,500.00
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Helen TaborThe Edge of the FieldOil on board12 x 13.5 "£ 1,100.00
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Helen TaborShetland WeddingOil on board13 x 17 "£ 1,200.00
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Helen TaborAvenue of TreesOil on board29 x 29 "£ 3,600.00
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Helen TaborScottish HouseOil on board29.5 x 35 "£ 4,500.00
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Helen TaborCanalside, VeniceOil on board13.5 x 14.5 "£ 1,100.00
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Helen TaborDoorway, VeniceOil on board12.5 x 14 "£ 1,100.00
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Helen TaborItalian EveningOil on board25 x 29 "£ 3,400.00
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Helen TaborThe Garden StepsOil on panel27 x 25 "£ 3,400.00
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Helen TaborCherryOil on board30 x 35"£ 3,600.00
Helen Tabor was born in Middlesex in 1960. After a career in teaching, including several years in The Himalayas, she settled in Scotland and became a freelance artist in 1997, combining bringing up a family with developing her painting career.
Helen has exhibited regularly with Thompson’s Galleries in both London and Aldeburgh for 20 years.
From childhood, Helen has had a passion for drawing and painting. After studying English and History at university, she travelled in India, taking a sketchbook and paints with her. She had her first exhibition in York based on her experiences.
Following three years of teaching in the UK, she became a VSO teacher in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, filling her baggage allowance with oil paints and rolls of canvas. She employed the local carpenter to make stretchers for her canvases and based her paintings on village people, landscapes and religious artefacts.
Returning to the UK, starting a family and moving to Scotland brought a wealth of new inspiration in terms of landscape, seascape and a rich domestic life illustrated by many of the narrative themes in Helen’s figure paintings. As her children have grown up, the opportunity to travel again has provided new and exciting material, particularly evident in her paintings of Italy.
Personal Statement
‘I’ve always had an instinctive urge to express both the world around me and in my imagination through colour and texture. Over the years, I’ve been inspired by different cultures and landscapes as well as artists and makers who have influenced and are influencing the history of art. I feel privileged to have been able to draw on these rich resources to shape my own creative vision.’
Painting style
Helen’s painting style is both expressive and delicate, combining often vigorous brush strokes with fine detail. This creates an alluring contrast which intrigues and excites the eye.
She uses collage and under- layers of colour to build depth and texture, combining the use of large and small brushes, printing rollers and palette knives to keep the surface fresh. While Helen’s landscapes and seascapes are an emotional response to the world around her, the figure paintings are more contemplative and arise from imagined narratives or experience of family life.
‘In both my figure paintings and my paintings of land or sea, I aim to capture an atmosphere whether of drama or calm, while at the same time playing with paint and colour to free up ideas as the work progresses. There is an excitement and anticipation at the beginning of every painting, followed by a period of anxiety until at some point along the journey the painting begins to speak for itself and all the artist has to do is to follow its lead. That point is always a magical moment and never ceases to thrill. It perhaps can be compared to getting through the pain barrier in sport and the consequent surge of adrenalin and simultaneous sense of peace is what takes me be back to my studio every day.’
EXHIBITIONS & Awards
2022
Solo exhibition, Thompson’s Gallery, Aldeburgh
London Art Fair (with Thompson's Gallery)
Scottish show, Stafford Gallery
2021
Solo exhibition, The Smithy Gallery, Blanefield, Glasgow
London Art Fair (with Thompson’s Gallery)
Group exhibition, Red Rag Gallery, Bath
2020
Solo exhibition, The Smithy Gallery, Blanefield, Glasgow
London Art Fair (with Thompson’s Gallery)
2019
Solo exhibition, Thompsons Gallery, Aldeburgh
2019 Art London with Thompson’s Gallery
2017
Solo exhibition, Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth.
Three-woman show, Smithy Gallery, Glasgow
2016
Solo exhibition, Thompsons Gallery, Aldeburgh
2015
Solo exhibition, Albion Gallery, Chipping Norton
Three-person show, Gullane Gallery
Selected for The Gordon Smith Memorial Exhibition, Dovecote Gallery, Edinburgh
2014
Two-person show, Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth
2013
Gullane Gallery Award, Royal Society Scottish Watercolourists, Royal Scottish Academy
Society of Scottish Artists exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy
Royal Society of Scottish Watercolourists exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy
2012
Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy
2011
Lily McDougal Award, Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy
Solo exhibition, Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth
Solo exhibition, Art Amatoria, Edinburgh
Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy show
Two-woman show, Marinehouse at Beer
2010
Solo exhibition, Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth
Annual open exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy
2009
Solo exhibition, Rowley Contemporary Art, Winchester
2008
Three-person show, Thompson's Gallery, London
2007
Solo exhibition, Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth
Three-person show, Thompson's Gallery, London
2006
Three-woman show, Thompson's Gallery, Aldeburgh
2005
The Scottish Show, Thompson's Gallery, London
2004
Solo exhibition, Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth
‘Ports of Call’ Dronninglind Kunstcentre, Denmark (sponsored by The Danish Arts Council)
Art London, Chelsea with the Mainhill Gallery
2003
Solo exhibition, The Mainhill Gallery, Edinburgh Festival show
Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy
2002
Solo exhibition, Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth
Glasgow, Bristol and Battersea Affordable Art Fairs
2001
Glasgow Art Fair with the Mainhill Gallery
2000
Art Edinburgh, Mainhill Gallery, Edinburgh Festival exhibition
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Autumn Annual
24 Sep - 11 Oct 2024 LondonLondon's annual tradition, the Autumn Annual, will be on display from 24 September - 11 October 2024. This year, we have chosen to pare down the exhibition, and will feature...Read more -
Venice
Through Artists Eyes 17 Aug - 15 Sep 2024 AldeburghThe most beautiful city in the world, through the eyes of some of our artists. From the classic and well loved vistas to the small and quirky details that make...Read more -
Annual Exhibition 2024
28 May - 30 Jun 2024 Aldeburgh -
Caledonian
6 - 23 Mar 2024 HarpendenA staple show in our Harpenden gallery's exhibition calendar, our ever popular Scottish Exhibition, also known as 'The Caledonian' features works from Scottish artists familiar and new to Thompson's.Read more -
Christmas Exhibition 2023
Aldeburgh 2 Dec 2023 - 7 Jan 2024 Aldeburgh -
Autumn Catalogue 2023
19 Sep - 20 Oct 2023 London -
Annual Exhibition 2023
10 Jun - 2 Jul 2023 Aldeburgh -
Caledonian
The Scottish Exhibition 25 Mar - 22 Apr 2023 Harpenden -
The Autumn Picture Show
21 Sep - 8 Oct 2022 LondonA new spin on Thompson's Gallery London's annual autumn exhibition, this show features a richly varied selection of paintings, drawings, and mixed media artworks by familiar and fresh talents. From...Read more -
Helen Tabor
Small Mysteries 13 - 28 Aug 2022 AldeburghThis collection of paintings was made during a time of uncertainty, when memories, imagined narratives and the delights of immediate surroundings were made more acute and vivid than ever before....Read more -
Caledonian
2022 Scottish Exhibition 26 Mar - 17 Apr 2022 HarpendenSince the early 90s, Thompson's Gallery has always had strong ties with the country north of our English border, and we believe there is no better time for a revival...Read more -
Christmas Exhibition 2021
4 Dec 2021 - 9 Jan 2022 AldeburghThompson's Gallery Aldeburgh is holding its Christmas group exhibition, which, alongside the Annual Exhibition in June, is our largest collection of paintings and sculpture for sale during the year. There...Read more -
Autumn Exhibition 2021
28 Sep - 16 Oct 2021 LondonLondon's annual tradition, the Autumn Exhibition, on display from 28th September to 16th October 2021.Read more -
Annual Exhibition 2021
12 Jun - 4 Jul 2021 AldeburghThe largest of the galleries exhibitions, after the success of our Modern British exhibition this time the Annual features all contemporary artists, some new, some regulars, some returning faces, and...Read more
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Venice-Through Artist's Eyes
Aldeburgh, 2024 Read more -
Caledonian
The Scottish Exhibition 2024 Read more -
Annual Exhibition 2023
Aldeburgh, 2023 Read more -
Caledonian
The Scottish Exhibition 2023 Read more -
The Autumn Catalogue
London, 2022 Read more -
Helen Tabor
Small Mysteries Aldeburgh, 2022 Read more -
Christmas Exhibition 2021
Aldeburgh, 2021 Read more -
Autumn Exhibition 2021
London, 2021 Read more -
Annual Exhibition 2021
Aldeburgh, 2021 Read more -
Autumn Exhibition 2020
London, 2020 Read more -
Autumn Exhibition 2019
London, 2019 Read more -
Helen Tabor
London, 2008 Read more
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Helen Tabor
Small Mysteries August 12, 2022Opening in Aldeburgh this monthRead more -
The Walls have Eyes!
March 31, 2022Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched? Like a film star in a restaurant, you know your every move is being watched...Read more -
Sometimes it is just about Cuffs, Eyebrows and Chickens!
January 20, 2022Hanging paintings is a strange art. A wall that is perfect for one will leave another cold. Do you hang one artists works together so...Read more -
Thompson's Gallery unveils third location this October in Harpenden
October 5, 2021Thompson's Gallery proudly unveils its third gallery location, nestled in the heart of Harpenden, Hertfordshire. Only a 5' walk from Harpenden Station, the new space...Read more