Helen Lyness

I could always sketch and draw easily, but with raising kids and working a full time day job, I never had the chance to learn to paint until I retired! I bought some supplies and started to make paintings, learning as I worked, and it felt so right. I told myself if I was to know if I liked to paint, if I was any good at it, and if others liked my art, I must paint one hundred paintings in a year. And so I did. I have never claimed what I do is "fine art", it's more organic than that - more like "folk art"!

Friends and family were my best fans and they were asking to buy my art, which really made me happy. Within the first three years of becoming a "real artist", I started to take my paintings to markets and craft shows in the area, where feedback from strangers making purchases gave me the incentive to do more.

I have been making art for twelve years now and I have created over seven hundred paintings! I get my inspiration everywhere! Some days I feel like making abstract art, other days I am painting the farmland of the midwest. Occasionally I am asked to do pet portraits, or a painting of a special car or tractor in front of a barn. I also paint mountain scenes, beach scenes, and peaceful gardens full of flowers.

I have been working as an artist with It Takes Two since 2024, and I always hope my art is meaningful to others who want to send a card or gift to someone special. I am very thankful for every It Takes Two customer for feeling the connections the cards and gifts featuring my art offer them.