Although Jack Hellewell was unenthusiastic about ‘war’, Service in the RAF (Egypt, North Africa and Italy) provided him with sights and experiences which would not normally have been available to a young man from a working class background. He took full advantage in later years of the wealth of images he stored from that period of life.
Jack trained at Bradford College of Art from the late 1940’s to early 1950’s, afterwards working as a graphic designer until the tragic death of his wife, Dora in 1976, when he opted out of the ‘rat race’ to become a full time painter and semi-recluse.
The artist painted all day, every day, except Sunday, which was his ‘housekeeping day’ when he taught himself how to cook, clean, wash, iron and sew and was subsequently fiercely independent in these tasks, if not entirely successful!
An adventurous and unconventional man, he took his young family to Australia and back in the 1060’s, virtually a ‘round the world tour’, an experience yet again providing him with vast and diverse material and ideas for later work.
Jack was incredibly modest and genuinely believed that no-one could possibly be interested in him. However, he was always delighted when people expressed an interest in his paintings and he would bashfully ‘hold court’ at his beautiful studio in Ilkley, happy discussing his work whilst handing round the tea and ginger biscuits. Cats and dogs were welcome also, he thought they had more sense than humans.
Jack Hellewell worked primarily in acrylic, his predominant style is best described as expressionist specialising primarily in landscapes. A recurring theme was his representation of the local Ilkley scenery which encapsulates the very soul of the Yorkshire Dales…
The works of acclaimed Yorkshire artist, however, are by no means restricted to landscapes. He was a master of distillation of the essential elements of still life and creator of a number of searching allegorical studies invoking strong feelings of foreboding. He was equally capable of expressing subtle humour and intimacy in his paintings.
A distinct evolution of styles can be traced through his prolific career, ranging from hard-edge abstraction to photo-realism. Jack mastered various painting techniques ranging from bold impasto to delicate translucent application...