'I can still see it in my mind's eye, I am still haunted by it' - Stourbridge artist inspired to start drawing by murder case to host exhibition
An artist who has appeared on national television is coming to Stourbridge, where a tragic incident nearby gave her inspiration to start painting and drawing.
"Broke Hearts" is a series of narrative paintings and drawings begun in lockdown by Helen Kelly which will be on display at the Future Rebel Gallery, Grandad's Attic at the Bonded Warehouse on Canal Street between the launch date of Friday February 6 and 22.
Helen, from Stourbridge, reached the final three of the Sky Arts competition Portrait of the Year in 2021, and was inspired to start drawing when she saw a hand drawn poster of murdered 13-year-old paper boy Carl Bridgewater sellotaped to a stone column in a newsagents in 1978.
She said: "It was a sketchy energetic portrait of him, full of scrappy 70’s innocent life but the words above his image stopped me in my tracks.
