Artist Bio

Helina Bassey (b. 1988) is a British artist, born in London and raised in West Yorkshire, England with Nigerian and White British heritage. Her love for drawing and painting began early and evolved alongside a deep connection to nature, identity, and spirituality. After studying art in Leeds, she built a career across the charity and creative sectors, working with organisations such as Arts Council England and, most recently in arts marketing and development for Yorkshire Contemporary.

In 2020, she launched her art practice through Etsy, creating illustrations celebrating Black and Brown women in peaceful, nature-inspired scenes. Following a period of personal loss, Helina found healing through faith, marathon running, fundraising and advocacy for charities —experiences that continue to inform the emotional and spiritual depth of her work.

Working primarily in oil and acrylic, she creates textured, contemplative surfaces that sit between abstraction and landscape. Her restrained palette of muted blues, greys, and earthy browns reflects an ongoing exploration of atmosphere, light, nature and emotional depth. Her process is slow and meditative, involving repeated layering, scraping back, and reworking until balance emerges.

A purist in approach, technique and sensibility, Helina embraces reduction as a way of holding space inviting calm and introspection. Her paintings offer moments of pause within an accelerated world.

What appears minimal at first reveals intricate layers and subtle shifts of tone, quiet gestures that evoke movement and emotion.

In 2024, Helina received funding from Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice fund to deepen her exploration of painting and contemporary art. She lives and works in Calderdale, England.

studiohelina.contact@gmail.com

Selected Exhibitions
2026, Autumn Sunny Bank Mills (Group)

2025 Ilkley Manor House Gallery (Group)
2025 South Square Arts Centre, Thornton, Bradford (Solo)
2023 Left Bank, Leeds - (Group)