Helen Orton (b. 1973) is a figurative painter who translates photographs and art historical references into paintings that explore the complexities of living in a chaotic and uncertain world. Orton responds to source images of the human form by transforming them into paintings with evocative titles that invite the viewer to contemplate the tension between the figure’s inner and public selves.

Orton was born in Melton Mowbray, UK and currently lives and works near Newbury, UK. The artist has a degree in Business Operation and Control from the University of Salford and the University of Toledo in the USA. Formerly a Software Designer and Developer, Orton made a career change in 2020 to concentrate on painting after studying portrait painting and life drawing for many years.

Orton has exhibited locally with her first solo exhibition, ‘To See Oneself is to Recognise Oneself’, held in 2025 at The Base gallery near Newbury. In 2024, one of her paintings was included in the Women in Art Fair at the Mall Galleries in London during Frieze week. Also in 2024, Orton was shortlisted for the Visual Arts Open.