RETURN OF THE MUSE
For fifty years Helen Bellany had not put paintbrush to paper, but after the passing of her late husband, stellar talent John Bellany, her passion for art was reignited, finds Abi Pooley
Helen Bellany's passion for painting has been reignited after a fifty-year hiatus
They say it is never too late to be what you might have been, and artist and writer Helen Bellany, who was brought up in the village of Golspie, is a prime example. Detailing her extraordinary life in her 2018 memoir The Restless Wave: My Two Lives with John Bellany, Helen writes lucidly of her renewed passion for painting. She returned to the hobby after the passing of her husband, the critically acclaimed Scottish painter John Bellany, a man whose works are globally renowned and feature in the collections of highly regarded galleries around the world.
Helen’s memoir, which made her a published author at the age of 75, is an eloquent, candid account of her life with John, a life that she considers to have been a privilege. As with every relationship, though, the duo had their share of difficulties, and Helen does not shy away from recounting the more testing times. She writes openly of John’s long battles with ill-health, surviving alcoholism, many near-death episodes and a liver transplant in 1988, as well as the travails of dealing with single-motherhood as a result of their twelve-year separation. Treating it as a way of preserving the memory of her late husband, her life, and their shared experiences, Helen’s book is a remarkable celebration of their unique partnership through life.
To say that Helen and John’s tale was an incredible love story does not quite cover it. Their first meeting was during Fresher’s Week in 1961 at Edinburgh College of Art, when a rather flamboyant John caught Helen’s eye as he was ‘thundering out jazz’ on the piano. The couple fell in love, married each other twice, had three children together – Jonathan, Paul and Anya – and Helen became a muse and anchor for John, featuring in many of his most famous paintings.
‘I think John must have had my features ingrained in his brain,’ says Helen. ‘Sometimes I wasn’t sure if he even meant to draw me. I suppose it is what you call loving somebody.’
After the couple graduated in 1965, Helen neglected her own passion for art, focusing on bringing up their children, and didn’t so much as pick up a paintbrush for the next fifty years. Indeed, she was never inclined to put brush to paper while she lived with John, deciding instead to support him in his mission to achieve artistic grandeur. ‘I had no feeling that I wanted to paint,’ says Helen. ‘I filled my life with other things. I loved looking after the children, and I didn’t want to do anything else at that time.’
It was only in recent years, while out in Italy – a destination where she and John spent much time
“Helen became a muse and an anchor for John
“I felt a sudden urge to draw and to paint
together – that Helen regained her own enthusiasm for painting as a pastime. ‘About a year ago, while at our house in Barga, I felt a sudden urge to draw and paint,’ says Helen. ‘The Tuscan landscape inspired me, as it used to inspire John.’
Using soft and muted tones, Helen’s style beautifully captures the Italian landscape in all its glory. ‘I think artists have a bit of melancholy in them somewhere, and my colours reflect that,’ she says, explaining that her hometown in Sutherland boasted a similarly moody landscape. ‘It is utterly beautiful, and that is where it comes from I think.’
In 1963, Helen took John to visit her childhood home for the first time, and he too was moved by what he saw. The rugged Sutherland countryside became the subject of many of his paintings, drawing inspiration from the sea and incorporating much symbolism of the human condition into his works. A number of John’s paintings housed at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art are based on places he visited with Helen during that first trip to Sutherland.
Surrounded by walls adorned with his beautiful artwork, Helen finds a great deal of inspiration in John’s paintings. ‘All around me, I’ve got his wonderful masterpieces,’ says Helen, gazing around the room. ‘It is so inspiring. Now
I am beginning to hang up some of my own, which is perhaps a bit presumptuous,’ she jests.
Just last year, Helen took a leap of faith and exhibited her own work for the first time at the Junor Gallery in St Andrews, Fife. Her works were displayed alongside those of Alexander Moffat, a close friend and contemporary of John.
‘I hadn’t done any art for such a long time,’ says Helen, explaining she had certain reservations about doing an exhibition at first.
‘Both Beth Junor, the gallery owner, and Alexander were so kind. They made it possible.’
That leap, it seems, was worth taking. Helen was thrilled by the experience and is as much in love with art as ever. ‘I thoroughly love painting now,’ she says, smiling. ‘But I must say, nobody is more surprised than me that I am doing this.’
Helen had an extraordinary voyage through life with John. Finally realising her own potential in the art world fifty years on, Helen serves as a reminder to us all that it is never too late to set another goal or to dream a new dream.