Meet Helena Rogers, who is the Burien Arts Association’s featured artist for October, at the opening reception this Tuesday, Oct. 1, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the Burien Community Center.

Helena’s exhibit of paintings runs through October and is open to the public during Center hours, 8:30 a.m. – 8 p.m., Monday – Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Fridays.

Helena started painting first with watercolors, “but shortly thereafter realized I craved the rich saturation of oil paints,” she said.

She has painted all new works for this show.

“The themes are still related to nature, but I have approached it with more of a personal perspective and tried to reach for higher plateaus with my color choices and abstractions,” she said.

“There are a few groupings: the “As Above…so Below” paintings depict views looking into reflective pools of water; another group is based on memories of my travels to the Southwest; the four views of one of my favorite trees, “The Poplar”, was all about the seasons; and finally, there is a collection of small abstracts that flow through me on an ongoing basis.”

Helena was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and immigrated with her family to the U.S. at age five. The family lived in Los Angeles where Helena finished high school. After a year back in the Netherlands with her grandmother, she visited a friend in Seattle in 1972 and fell in love with this area.

Helena and then-husband John Rogers started a record store in Bellevue called Rubato Records in 1976. Later as a sole proprietor, Helena moved the store to West Seattle and ran it there through its sale in 2010. In the early 2000s, she got a degree in Web Development from South Seattle College and pursued a web career as well.

Helena recently had her first solo show at the Mt. Baker Windermere Real Estate office. She has been painting for five years.

All works on display at the Community Center are for sale. Please email [email protected] for information on purchasing.

The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 6th Ave SW:

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