Helen Alex Murray
- Mixed Media
- Painting
Helen Alex Murray paints between stillness and motion, between what is revealed and what is held. Her practice exists where the calm of the coast meets the weight of the city, layered, luminous, and alive with breath.
From her studio at Pandora’s Box in Vancouver’s East Village, Murray creates abstract paintings that begin with an atmosphere, a colour story, or a pause. Resin, foil, mother of pearl, and pigment are layered onto wood panels, building surfaces that shift with light and time. Metals rise and sink, tones dissolve into one another, and an elemental presence emerges.
Her recent series, Currents: Between Silence and Storm and Gilded Reflections, trace the dialogue between natural and urban forces. One carries the rhythm of tide and weather, where silence precedes release. The other channels the energy of the city, layered with radiance and resilience. Together they form a conversation between endurance and impermanence, reflection and depth.
Her process holds both structure and surrender, producing paintings that meet people where they are. They are not static works, but reminders that beauty lives within contrast, and that strength can be found in both stillness and change.
artist contact info
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Before the Break
Before the Break - 24 x 48 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Before the Break unfolds in sweeping layers where soft blues drift against deep shadows, touched by quiet traces of light. The painting lingers in the threshold between calm and storm, when the sky gathers its strength and the body recognizes a force greater than itself. It is less a study of unrest than an invitation to acceptance, to witness the scale of nature, to feel its power, and to discover the unexpected peace that can emerge in surrender. In that moment of surrender, the storm does not take away but reveals, showing the beauty that rises when we yield to forces larger than ourselves.
Glacial Radiance
Glacial Radiance – 36 x 48 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel Glacial Radiance lives in the meeting of extremes. Cool blues expand across the surface, steadied and broken by flashes of metallic warmth. Ice and fire, distance and glow, restraint and brilliance all converge here, not in conflict but in balance. The painting shows that opposites, when held together, do not diminish each other. They create a force greater than either alone, a radiance born from contrast. In its presence, we are reminded that the beauty of opposites is not in their difference, but in the transformation they create together.
In the Shallows
In the Shallows — 24 x 36 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel In the Shallows is composed in turquoise, with subtle passages of purple and the restrained gleam of gold. The painting carries the clarity of shallow water, where the ground beneath remains visible and the body moves with assurance. It is a space of safety and transparency, where nothing is obscured and the surface becomes a place to rest as much as to play. Within the larger series, this work offers balance, reminding us that currents need not always overwhelm; they can also steady us, allowing clarity to rise. In its calm presence, it reveals that even the most delicate waters can hold profound strength.
Gathering Currents
Gathering Currents - 36 x 36 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Gathering Currents unfolds in soft layers of blue, shifting between mother of pearl translucence and brighter flashes of cerulean. Subtle traces of magenta surface like light glancing across moving water, fleeting yet transformative. The work recalls the place where rivers meet and tides pool together, a convergence of motion that is both powerful and fluid. It becomes a meditation on balance, where separate currents gather into acceptance, carrying with them the strength of continual change. In this meeting of forces, the painting reminds us that the flow of life is never fixed but always alive, always becoming.
Celestial Rise
Celestial Rise - 36 x 36 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel Violet, indigo, and silver gather in movement that surges upward, carrying the eye with a sense of power and grace. Metallic fragments scatter like a constellation breaking apart, suggesting both vastness and immediacy. The surface is alive with contrast, dense with depth yet unbound in direction. Celestial Rise holds the viewer in that moment of lift, where form and light seem to exceed their own edges and open into something greater. It is a work that does not just rise but compels the spirit to rise with it.
Beneath the Gleam
Beneath the Gleam - 36 x 48 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel Gold, silver, and copper scatter like embers across a field of darkness, their brilliance heightened by the depth that surrounds them. The surface feels alive with contrast, where radiance does not erase shadow but emerges from it. This work suggests that light gains its strength when it rises out of obscurity, that beauty becomes most profound when held against stillness and weight. Beneath the Gleam is not only about shine, but about endurance and the quiet truth that even in the presence of darkness, luminosity will always find a way through.
Ash & Ember
Ash and Ember - 36 x 36 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel Ash and Ember rests in the space between fire and its fading glow. Silver spreads like the coolness of ash, while copper and gold emerge as sparks that still carry heat. The surface shifts between what has burned away and what endures, holding both memory and flame. In its balance of stillness and radiance, the work speaks to transformation, capturing beauty in the moment when fire lingers, not fierce but unforgettable. It reminds us that fire does not simply end — it changes everything it touches.
Tides of Time
Tides of Time — 36 x 36 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Tides of Time is composed in navy and gold, with passages of mother of pearl and white that break across the surface in sweeping motion. The painting carries a turbulence that is both striking and deliberate, a surge of energy that cannot be ignored. It demands attention, not through chaos alone but through its scale and presence, reminding us of the inexorable forces that move through all things. Within its intensity lies a meditation on endurance, on the way time itself reshapes and commands with unrelenting strength. It shows us that time is not
OCEAN’S WHISPER
Ocean’s Whisper — 24 x 48 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Ocean’s Whisper is composed in light and dark blues, accented with passages of white and the quiet shimmer of gold. The work turns attention beneath the surface, to the undercurrent that endures regardless of our presence. It suggests a rhythm that is constant and unseen, a force that moves with or without us, carrying both stillness and inevitability. Within its flow lies a reminder of continuity, that life, like water, persists in motion even when we are unaware of its depth. To stand before it is to feel the gravity of that truth, the infinite pull of something larger than ourselves.
City of Lights
City of Light – 30 x 60 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel This painting glimmers with the energy of distance, evoking the glow of a city seen from afar. Gold, silver, and copper scatter across the surface, alive with rhythm and softened into harmony. The metallics shift with each glance, creating the sense of a living constellation, both expansive and intimate. City of Light captures illumination as it gathers and spreads, reminding us that brilliance is not only solitary but also collective, a glow that strengthens when it rises together.
Before the Break
Before the Break - 24 x 48 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Before the Break unfolds in sweeping layers where soft blues drift against deep shadows, touched by quiet traces of light. The painting lingers in the threshold between calm and storm, when the sky gathers its strength and the body recognizes a force greater than itself. It is less a study of unrest than an invitation to acceptance, to witness the scale of nature, to feel its power, and to discover the unexpected peace that can emerge in surrender. In that moment of surrender, the storm does not take away but reveals, showing the beauty that rises when we yield to forces larger than ourselves.
Glacial Radiance
Glacial Radiance – 36 x 48 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel Glacial Radiance lives in the meeting of extremes. Cool blues expand across the surface, steadied and broken by flashes of metallic warmth. Ice and fire, distance and glow, restraint and brilliance all converge here, not in conflict but in balance. The painting shows that opposites, when held together, do not diminish each other. They create a force greater than either alone, a radiance born from contrast. In its presence, we are reminded that the beauty of opposites is not in their difference, but in the transformation they create together.
In the Shallows
In the Shallows — 24 x 36 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel In the Shallows is composed in turquoise, with subtle passages of purple and the restrained gleam of gold. The painting carries the clarity of shallow water, where the ground beneath remains visible and the body moves with assurance. It is a space of safety and transparency, where nothing is obscured and the surface becomes a place to rest as much as to play. Within the larger series, this work offers balance, reminding us that currents need not always overwhelm; they can also steady us, allowing clarity to rise. In its calm presence, it reveals that even the most delicate waters can hold profound strength.
Gathering Currents
Gathering Currents - 36 x 36 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Gathering Currents unfolds in soft layers of blue, shifting between mother of pearl translucence and brighter flashes of cerulean. Subtle traces of magenta surface like light glancing across moving water, fleeting yet transformative. The work recalls the place where rivers meet and tides pool together, a convergence of motion that is both powerful and fluid. It becomes a meditation on balance, where separate currents gather into acceptance, carrying with them the strength of continual change. In this meeting of forces, the painting reminds us that the flow of life is never fixed but always alive, always becoming.
Celestial Rise
Celestial Rise - 36 x 36 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel Violet, indigo, and silver gather in movement that surges upward, carrying the eye with a sense of power and grace. Metallic fragments scatter like a constellation breaking apart, suggesting both vastness and immediacy. The surface is alive with contrast, dense with depth yet unbound in direction. Celestial Rise holds the viewer in that moment of lift, where form and light seem to exceed their own edges and open into something greater. It is a work that does not just rise but compels the spirit to rise with it.
Beneath the Gleam
Beneath the Gleam - 36 x 48 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel Gold, silver, and copper scatter like embers across a field of darkness, their brilliance heightened by the depth that surrounds them. The surface feels alive with contrast, where radiance does not erase shadow but emerges from it. This work suggests that light gains its strength when it rises out of obscurity, that beauty becomes most profound when held against stillness and weight. Beneath the Gleam is not only about shine, but about endurance and the quiet truth that even in the presence of darkness, luminosity will always find a way through.
Ash & Ember
Ash and Ember - 36 x 36 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel Ash and Ember rests in the space between fire and its fading glow. Silver spreads like the coolness of ash, while copper and gold emerge as sparks that still carry heat. The surface shifts between what has burned away and what endures, holding both memory and flame. In its balance of stillness and radiance, the work speaks to transformation, capturing beauty in the moment when fire lingers, not fierce but unforgettable. It reminds us that fire does not simply end — it changes everything it touches.
Tides of Time
Tides of Time — 36 x 36 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Tides of Time is composed in navy and gold, with passages of mother of pearl and white that break across the surface in sweeping motion. The painting carries a turbulence that is both striking and deliberate, a surge of energy that cannot be ignored. It demands attention, not through chaos alone but through its scale and presence, reminding us of the inexorable forces that move through all things. Within its intensity lies a meditation on endurance, on the way time itself reshapes and commands with unrelenting strength. It shows us that time is not
OCEAN’S WHISPER
Ocean’s Whisper — 24 x 48 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Ocean’s Whisper is composed in light and dark blues, accented with passages of white and the quiet shimmer of gold. The work turns attention beneath the surface, to the undercurrent that endures regardless of our presence. It suggests a rhythm that is constant and unseen, a force that moves with or without us, carrying both stillness and inevitability. Within its flow lies a reminder of continuity, that life, like water, persists in motion even when we are unaware of its depth. To stand before it is to feel the gravity of that truth, the infinite pull of something larger than ourselves.
City of Lights
City of Light – 30 x 60 - Acrylic + Foil + Resin on Gallery Wood Panel This painting glimmers with the energy of distance, evoking the glow of a city seen from afar. Gold, silver, and copper scatter across the surface, alive with rhythm and softened into harmony. The metallics shift with each glance, creating the sense of a living constellation, both expansive and intimate. City of Light captures illumination as it gathers and spreads, reminding us that brilliance is not only solitary but also collective, a glow that strengthens when it rises together.
Before the Break
Before the Break - 24 x 48 - Acrylic + Mixed Media on Gallery Wood Panel Before the Break unfolds in sweeping layers where soft blues drift against deep shadows, touched by quiet traces of light. The painting lingers in the threshold between calm and storm, when the sky gathers its strength and the body recognizes a force greater than itself. It is less a study of unrest than an invitation to acceptance, to witness the scale of nature, to feel its power, and to discover the unexpected peace that can emerge in surrender. In that moment of surrender, the storm does not take away but reveals, showing the beauty that rises when we yield to forces larger than ourselves.
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