Helen Zapata - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I am an artist, living and working in sunny Arizona. I've been painting for 40 years (egads!) and look forward to many more years at my easel.
I am drawn to many different styles of painting. I keep trying to settle down and follow one path, but my interest gets caught by many things and I have to follow my Muse wherever she leads me. I love the Impressionists such as Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cassatt. I'm floored with the Realists, and sometimes I must slow down and etch out my painting with thoughtfulness and care. Yet, at the same time, I'm delighted with the Post-Impressionist period. Artists such as Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne, and Toulouse-Lautrec.. their work makes me jump up with excitement! There's just something about that period that opened up a new world of artistic daring that leaped off their canvases, straight into my heart. It's ALL good, don't you think?
So with me, I'm afraid I can't make any promises. At times I'm avidly exploring palm trees. Other times, I'm sitting enraptured in front of a still life, or dropping in the jeweled tones of a beautiful Koi. I may be playing in the trees and footpaths of a favorite landscape. Sometimes I'm even throwing paint at my canvas in reckless abandon and seeing what kinds of surprises come out of it. I enjoy the diversity. It keeps me interested and fresh.
But don't worry.. my work will always be my own. I will always delight in light and shadow, in patterns and shapes, in color and value. God gave us a world of exceptional beauty, and I plan to keep painting it in the best way I know how. Helen Zapata
Visit My Website at galleryzapata.com
Or Visit My Gift Shop

My Interests

Aside from painting, I love to read. In fact, I hope nobody ever forces me to choose between a love of art and a love of reading. That would be a hard one.

I also enjoy movies, and computers. And then, there are my Standard Poodles who keep me laughing, and we certainly cannot forget my THREE Perfect Grandsons!

I'd like to meet:

Any of the truly great painters.

Music:

I love pretty much all kinds of music. But my favorite is the glorious guitar playing of Ottmar Leibert. He makes me swoon.

Movies:

Movies? Egads.. I'm a Movieholic. Favorite movies off the top of my head though are "Regarding Henry", "Pretty Woman", "The Matrix", "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", "Tremors" (it's just such a hoot), .. oh gosh, I could really go on and on here. I love movies.

Television:

Hmmm.. okay, I love The Amazing Race! That's my favorite. I also watch other reality shows, like Survivor, as they come along. I never watch sitcoms. The laugh tracks drive me bonkers.

Books:

My favorite book is "Pocketful of Names" by Joe Coomer. But I love all sorts of fiction. Mysteries, drama, romance.. bring it on! For non-fiction I always enjoy books about art and artist biographies, plus I study things I'm interested in. I have a ton of knitting books from the summer I taught myself to knit. Lots of books on Koi, but I could use more. I usually buy my nonfiction, but tend to frequent the library for my everyday fiction. God bless libraries! One of the finest things we have! Donate to your local library whenever you can. I do!

Heroes:

My Dad. I miss him so much.

My Blog

Typos out loud and in color!

Hello! I haven't posted for while, but that's really only because I've been working. But a little while ago I decided to do a quick video update on my latest works in progress. Note, I did say "blue"...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Tue, 06 May 2008 01:40:00 PST

Glazes and Galleries

I haven’t much time... but here’s a sneak peek at the painting I’m working on right now. It still needs a couple more glazes before it’ll be finished. "Tidal Conve...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:10:00 PST

Birds, Backyards, and Busy Me!

I’ve been working on three different paintings. They need varying drying times, so it’s easier just to keep moving them around. Since I got to a point where all three needed a little dryin...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:37:00 PST

I feel like a cave artist

I've been playing around with textures and glazes (as usual) and seem to becoming more SPARE in my treatment of them. It's like I keep painting but am holding onto the handbrake so I can pull it...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:21:00 PST

Ponydoodles are the newest designer dogs

You all know that I have Standard Poodles in my life. Well, if you'd like to see the latest in "Designer Dogs" (such as LabraDoodles, Golden Doodles, and all those mutts..).. you MUST go check o...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:26:00 PST

Still Hanging out with Norah and her friends

It's pouring rain today and COLD! Brr. I've been cozied up in my studio with my little heater, good music, and a lovely view of the sky.. This highly textured 10x10 inch piece ...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:17:00 PST

Listening to Norah

Yesterday I received some rather distressing news from my agent. Seems I"m not exactly toeing the line properly with the abstracts I shipped them recently. The colors are wrong. The compo...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:34:00 PST

Four Floaty Squares

I've been having some good fun in my studio. These are four 8x8 gallery wrapped canvases. I texturized them with light molding paste, and then started laying in glazes. I don't know ...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 02:57:00 PST

Introducing "Maggie"

After several days of conversation with the fabulous Standard Poodle Rescue ladies in Phoenix and in Tucson, yesterday we were excited to welcome "Maggie" into our home. Maggie is an elderly lad...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:39:00 PST

Bobbi’s Iris

My good friend and fellow artist, Bobbi Doyle-Maher, has the most lovely digital collage of an Iris up on her Ebay Store right now. I fell in love with the image and was quite tempted...
Posted by Helen Zapata on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 09:36:00 PST