Exploring Western Australia’s Wildflower Art with Helen Ansell
Author: Rebecca Robinson Date Posted:1 October 2024
Growing up in the remote Aboriginal community of Ululla, Helen developed an early love for native flora, and over the years she’s made it her mission to celebrate Australia’s unique wildflowers through her art. Living in Mullewa, right in the heart of Wildflower Country, Helen draws endless inspiration from the ever-changing landscape around her. In this chat, she opens up about how her upbringing, creative process, and passion for nature come together in her joyful and vibrant paintings.
1. Helen, can you share how growing up in the remote Aboriginal community of Ululla influenced your love for wildflowers and painting?
I was very lucky to have the experience of growing up on Ululla – about 75km south west of Wiluna, right on the edge of the Western Desert in outback Western Australia. I got to experience sleeping under the stars by the camp fire listening to stories and going out bush collecting bush tucker. I learnt the Martu language and was part of the family - painting with my aunties in 46 degrees under the shade of a mulga tree. It was as an adult and after living overseas in Scotland for three years and returning home that I really started an appreciation of our amazing flora and fauna and started to use that as my subject medium and have been painting wildflowers ever since.
2. How does the unique landscape of Mullewa and its surroundings inspire your artwork, particularly during wildflower season?
Western Australia has the most diverse collection of wildflowers in the whole world – over 10,000 species – and my hometown of Mullewa is right in the heart of Wildflower Country. So I get to draw inspiration right from my own backyard. The season typically extends for about 8 weeks over August and September and not only is it different every year but week to week we get different colours and different varieties growing so it’s always a joy to see what each week brings. This year we have had record rain after a nine month drought last year (we got our whole average years rain in one month!) and the locals are amazed at not only the abundance of flowers but that we have flowers growing where they don’t usually grow (such as on the tops of hills) and different species we haven’t seen in these parts in years.
3. Wildflowers hold a special place in your heart and artwork. What is it about these native plants that captivates you the most?
As I mentioned before, it took me living overseas and returning to really appreciate how amazing our wildflowers are. As a child you can often take for granted things that you are used to. But after a time away I looked at flowers like Banksias (one of my favourite flowers to paint) with a new fascination – the shapes and colours are just so dramatic and wild and unlike anything anywhere else in the world. And when I started to paint them and do my research it was only then that I discovered how unique our flowers in Western Australia really are – many of them not growing anywhere else in the world!
4. Can you walk us through your creative process when painting wildflowers? How do you bring their vibrancy and life onto the canvas?
Unlike some artists I never really have a finished product in my mind (I often find myself quite surprised at how they turn out!) Although my work is not realistic, it is all based on real flora and fauna. I’ll often have a subject that I’ll begin with – such as a certain plant or animal and then go from there. I then like to explore different colour options and composition. I love to experiment with different colour combinations every time – to me the real fun part is trying to figure out what works - a bit like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle – I can only really see one step ahead at a time. I also like to draw inspiration from colour palettes found in nature – as nature always has the best colours! Sometimes a painting just flows from start to finish and sometimes I end up changing it quite a bit from where it started. The trick for me is to end up with a piece that doesn’t look overworked or overdone.
5. What role does storytelling play in your art, particularly when it comes to representing the native plants and animals of Australia?
Every time I do a new painting I like to research the subject matter and write a short description of the plant or animal that I accompany with the piece for people to read. I almost always end up finding out something interesting myself along the way – either through my own research or through people telling me information along the way as they visit my Gallery or see my work online. For example I had no idea we had over 300 types of native bees in Australia, some of them travel solo without hives and some of them are blue! I love it when other people can learn interesting facts about our amazing diverse eco-culture as well!
6. How do you balance accuracy and creativity when painting wildflowers and other native subjects?
Through my art I simplify my subject matters but still keep them recognisable. I usually stick to true colours of the actual subject matters but like to have fun with background colours and composition. I love it when Botanists admire my work and can recognise what they are (and know the Latin names of each).
7. What challenges do you face when trying to capture the essence of the Australian landscape in your work?
Sometimes I have chosen to paint a flower that is so rare that they only grow in a very specific part of the world, meaning I have never actually seen them in real life and have to rely on photos and sometimes they are so rare that even photos of them are very hard to find! One example of this is the Matchstick Banksia which only grows in a very specific 40km radius in outback WA. Luckily Kings Park Botanists were able to help me with this one!
8. Could you share a favourite wildflower or native plant that you’ve painted and what it symbolizes to you?
The most treasured and famous flower in my hometown is Lechenaultia macrantha, otherwise known as the “Wreath Flower”. It gets this name as the way they grow looks just like a man made wreath of flowers has been placed on the ground. They are not only an incredible sight to see but they are extremely rare (only growing in a handful of places in Western Australia and not anywhere else in the whole world) and Botanists have not yet figured out how to propagate them.
9. How does the seasonal bloom of wildflowers in Western Australia influence your work schedule or artistic themes?
Just like the wildflowers, my art practice is very seasonal. Our peak Wildflower Season is during August and September and depending on the weather can be a little earlier or later. I have my own Art Gallery on the main street of my hometown of Mullewa which opens its doors to tourists in this time. Even though it is only a tiny town of 300 people, during our busy time we welcome one to two hundred people a day through our doors in this time! So as you can imagine I put my brushes away and don’t get any painting done in this busy time. However during the hotter, quieter months of January to May as we get hardly any tourists, it‘s then a great time for me to be able to get a lot of new painting done. And from October to December I am pretty busy with Christmas online and market sales.
10. How has working with Earth Greetings inspired or influenced your artistic approach, especially when it comes to showcasing Australia’s natural beauty?
Working with Earth Greetings has provided me with a great platform to be able to see which designs really resonate with the public. Beforehand I used to paint more flowers on their own whereas now most of my work features a focal point such as a bird or animal. It has been really interesting to see which colour combinations appeal the most as well.
11. Lastly, what message would you like to convey to those who view your art, particularly those who might not be familiar with the beauty of Australia’s wildflowers?
A big theme of mine is joy. I really want my art to celebrate and showcase the amazing wildflowers we are so lucky to have right here in our backyard. I also love educating people about how rare and diverse our flora and fauna is and to encourage people to travel to visit places to see this natural phenomenon for themselves.
Check out our Helen Ansell greeting cards here.
Photography by Clair et Foncé