Helen Lang creates limited edition prints that can’t help but make you smile, bringing a little bit of happiness into the lives of anyone who even sees one, let alone those who are lucky enough to own one.
Why do the things hung on people’s walls matter?
Anything can be placed, hung or attached to a wall. It could be a sculpture, a photograph, a postcard, a painting or a print… but the things on your walls matter because they affect your mood. They can educate, remind, shock, encourage, inspire, delight and surprise…
Eleanor Roosevelt wrote that “Happiness is not a goal… it’s a by-product of a life well lived” In a similar way, I believe that a by-product of a good life is the ephemera and collected objects and art that make us happy.
How do you think your work affects people?
People seem to like my quirky humour. Some are attracted to the bright, vibrant colour and the highly decorative nature of my work. I like to think there is a happy, energetic feel to my illustrations and prints, which people respond to.
People are usually instantly attracted to the more vibrant animal and bird pieces, which have been completed over the last year or so. And then the alphabets. I’ve created three so far, a “London A-Z”, an “Animalphabet” and a “Musicalphabet” all of which have been produced as 40x50cm limited edition screen prints.
Your work is very cheerful, whimsical… it has an innocence to it – how did that style develop, what are your inspirations?
I think my work looks like it does because about three years ago I really started to enjoy what I was putting onto paper. My life used to be filled with full time employment for an art publisher and daydreams of being a freelance illustrator. Slowly through a series of happenings, (I met my beautiful and supportive partner, my grandmother died and the company I worked for went into insolvency) my work started to evolve and I began to explore a new style and approach to my work. I became dedicated to finding out what I could achieve in my own work after years of promoting other artists.
I found myself saying, “Right, you’ve only got so long on this planet, it’s about time you started doing what you love.” My partner was and still is wholly and fully supportive. She is a huge fan of memorable verse and an avid collector of quotations and sayings. This led me to create an initial piece based on a quote she had found: “Mon coeur est le tien” (“My heart is yours”). The reaction to this piece was great – it was in an exhibition curated by Helen Edwards of East End Prints and the initial edition sold out. I have glided onwards and upwards following the success of this work and the confidence it gave me in my own abilities. Since those early days, things have just got better and better. My style has got cleaner, brighter and more refined.
It’s bloody hard work running your own business and sometimes very difficult to switch from creative bod, to marketing bod and then to accountancy bod and then back again to being creative… but I try and keep a positive attitude and be thankful for what this new creative direction has given me. I love exhibiting work and meeting new people. I get to avoid public transport and spend more time with my family and loved ones.
You described my work as whimsical and cheerful and I guess my response to that would be that I’m all for art that challenges the viewer, questions and explores life and its dark, grotesque complexities, but I also think there is a requirement for art that at its very core, is fun, beautiful and pleasing to the eye.
It’s as simple as that. I have a strong desire for my prints to be accessible but at the same time collectable. This is why I produce limited edition prints, but at affordable prices.
What items or images do you keep around you when you’re working to maintain that positive spirit?
My daily routine is a brisk morning with Desmond the dog. Chasing a lunatic puppy (or hairy piglet as we like to call him) around a park while catching up on the day’s news with my fellow dog walkers gets me up and out and awake. I have a small but lovely home filled with family photos of good times. I’m surrounded by books from my childhood and often delve into these classics. My favourites are the Hamlyn – Golden Books; full of illustrated fairytales and popular stories. I also have a number of the city book titles by Miroslav Sasek, which are great to browse.
What artwork do you have on your walls?
My college days were fuelled by inspirational trips to London; to the National Gallery & the Tate, where I would spend my weekly food allowance (not booze allowance I might add!) on postcards of all my favourite images from the day.
From Pierre Bonnard, to Lucien Freud to Tamara de Lempicka and Caravaggio paintings, these postcards went straight up onto my room walls. Nowadays they are framed or rest on bookshelves, but they still have the same importance to me.
The things on my walls are a combination of my own work (I know this sounds dreadfully self-inflated but I need to have a reminder of what I do every day… and what I am capable of) as well as work that has been collected over the years.
I have an Anthony Peters print in the bedroom, which hangs alongside a Joel Holland limited edition. I also have a poster of “East Hampton NY, 1998” by Elliott Erwitt, a selection of postcards by Paul Thurlby, one is signed after meeting him by chance in Spitalfields. I also have a framed Gemma Correll greeting card and two Desperate Dan & Bash street kids screen prints by John Patrick Reynolds. I’m a big fan of the Dandy and Beano and read them avidly as a kid so love having these up.
I have a number of illustrated album covers, which are framed. One is Gerry Raffertys – City to City cover. I also have Stealers Wheel, Ferguslie Park and Thin Lizzys Jailbreak.
What is the importance of art in people’s lives? You’ve recently created a range of ‘name’ illustrations – why do you think people celebrate key milestones like the birth of their children by commissioning art?
Making something unique and personalised for someone is a great honour and I think people love to feel involved in the work. A commission usually means a fair amount of communication between a client and myself but always is an element of surprise involved too.
Thankfully, everyone who has commissioned an artwork so far has been over the moon and very complimentary about the final piece. I have created works for couples getting engaged and married as well as generating elegant pieces for people to celebrate the birth of their children. I think being “in the artwork” is a fabulous and unique way to commemorate these occasions.
