Helen's work consists of Native American portraiture, wildlife and landscape done in the mediums of acrylic, oil and watercolor. By far, however, the Indian portraits are what Helen is known for. From historical photographs she has painted Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, Gall of the Lakota and Moses of the Columbia group in the Central Basin. She also paints a variety of scenes on old circular saw blades, cross-cut saws and regular old hand saws. People from all over the country have sent their own special blades to Helen in order to get a bona fide Winter original.

The artwork here represents Helen's passion for native peoples. She has painted Southwest Indians, those from the Northern Plains and from the Pacific Northwest. She has the ability to capture individuals in the most realistic sense, and paint them they way they should be painted. There is no abstraction here. Her work is meant to portray her subjects as they appear, leaving us with a remarkable historical record of our Native American past.

For more information on Helen M. Winter, please e-mail or write to the Ritzville Public Library.