Helen Edwards, a member of Portrait Artists Australia, has been a finalist in the Black Swan Prize four times, the Shirley Hannan Portrait Prize in Bega once and has been selected for the Salon des Refusés of the Archibald twice. Her well-known subjects include Judith Durham (alone), Claudia Chan Shaw, Glenn Robbins and Santo Cilauro. On her website, Edwards writes of her ‘central belief that nature and people are at their best when in harmony with each other’. Describing herself (in the third person) as a ‘contemporary impressionist’ she writes that she is ‘inspired by the atmospheric effects of light as she seeks to express and share with the viewer her most heartfelt feelings about our world . . . Whilst it is her priority to achieve an excellent likeness she maintains an awareness that, for her portraiture is as much about the artist as the subject as she seeks to convey something about that person which personally resonates and moves her. It is this very intimate connection between artist and sitter which Helen believes results in the most meaningful and powerful portraits.’ In 2011 Edwards was one of six artists who painted homeless Melbourne teenagers for a project known as ‘Fusion Six’, raising funds for Melbourne City Mission.
