Born in Middlesex in 1960, Helen Tabor now lives and works in the Scottish Borders. She studied English and History at York university and spent a number of years teaching in the Himalayas before settling in Scotland in 1995.

All of Helen Tabor’s work is in oil and on canvas or board. She normally starts with a background of collage, which creates a textured, patterned effect on which she can build her painting. Using a collage base gives the painting depth and takes Helen in interesting directions, so that the painting is, to some extent, led by the interaction between the paint and what lies beneath. Helen often works with large brushes, initially applying paint boldly and then refining the image as she develops the painting.

Helen Tabor’s inspiration comes from many sources, among them the great Scottish painters of the last century, William McTaggart, Joan Eardley, Anne Redpath, William Gillies and John Maxwell; music, my family, the surrounding hills, fields and shores of southern Scotland and Picasso. Her subject matter may be landscape, seascape, still life or figures although her main interests are in the properties of colour, the effects created by the movement of the paint and in the mood she creates in her painting.

In addition to Red Rag Scottish Art Gallery Helen Tabor art work has been exhibited at other leading Scottish Art Galleries. Each painting at Red Rag Gallery is sourced from the Helen Tabor artist studio and like all Red Rag Scottish art and Contemporary art it can be shipped worldwide.