Voyage LA: Meet Artist Helena Gullström

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Meet Helena Gullstrom

Today we’d like to introduce you to Helena Gullstrom.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Helena. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well, I was born and raised in a small town in the western part of Sweden. I wanted to be an artist since I was about 6 years old. I was quite shy and drawing was something that I was pretty good at. I remember a girl, that liked my drawing of a horse and she said, that if I didn’t give it to her or make her another one, she’d pull my braids. I gave it to her, because I was shy, non-confrontational and because I was flattered. Maybe that’s how it all started.

I kept on drawing and painting and although I decided on not going to art school in Sweden I kept at it. I was young and wanted to have fun and decided at 20 years old to go to Los Angeles for a vacation. Some 20 years later, I’m still here.

I know my early life in Sweden influences my art. I use colours that evoke a Swedish sense of melancholy, the importance of light and introspection. I’ve come to realize that if you have an artist’s brain, you don’t really have a choice if you are going to make art. I don’t feel right if I go too long without creating. It feels like I’m missing out by not making the ideas that come up.

Bio:
Helena Gullström is a Swedish born artist that relocated to Los Angeles, CA when she was 20 years old. She is best known for her abstract figurative paintings as well as sculptures, using materials including oil, acrylic, paper, concrete and metal.

She has studied with well-known Los Angeles artist and revered art professor Franklyn Liegel at Otis College of Art and Design and he became a dear friend and guiding mentor. She has exhibited in USA and Sweden and has collectors worldwide including England, Switzerland, Sweden and USA.

Gullström pulls the alienated spectrum of human feelings from the world around her into sometimes almost genderless, fluid depictions of emotion masquerading as a human form on a thematic canvas that one can only perceive as ones own unconscious psyche.

She seems to dip paintbrush and fingers into the very archetypal, unconscious energies and needs we all share for organic wholeness. “The generous physical layers of paint and combined materials in Helena Gullström`s art creates a dreamlike imaginary world. The essence is both romantic and soulful. The work has the flavor of magic and miracles”. – Franklyn Liegel

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I wouldn’t call it smooth exactly. More like a typical L.A street with potholes.

I think lack of time is my biggest struggle. There’s so much else that “needs” to be done. That and I also struggled to get the courage to show my art, but as I got more artistic critique and encouragement from my mentor it became easier.

Helena Gullstrom – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I make mixed media paintings and sculptures. I usually start out with an underpainting in acrylic and sometimes add paper for texture, then I paint with oil, oil bars and oil pastel. My sculptures are made of a combo of concrete and metals.

I don’t do cool or trends. I hope to emotionally connect with the viewer through my art and it’s the best feeling in the world when they do.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me is when I’ve made a body of work that I’m proud of and when I see people being moved by it.

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