Helen Ryman is an artist, illustrator, writer and farmer.

I was raised in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway. Whether it be the perpetual modernity of agriculture, or simply a natural shift in the seasons - from Spring to Summer, Autumn to Winter, as I sketch, paint and write, I yearn for rural life to slow down. Pause a while.

My art isn’t purely based on agriculture. I’m a hoarder of a wide range of interests - mostly connected to the natural world - be it fishing or barn owls, walking through the Galloway hills and the archaeology found within them, the art I enjoy or the books I lose myself in.

Timeshort, I wish there were more hours in the day.

In the summer of 2021, I was the artist in residence for author James Rebanks (The Place of Tides, English Pastoral & The Shepherd’s Life) and author Kathryn Aalto (Writing Wild & The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh). I have participated in Spring Fling, Scotland’s premier Art and Craft Open Studios event and exhibited work in London, Kirkcudbright and the brilliant Wigtown Book Festival.

I have written for Countryman magazine, and have had writing selected for reading during the Wigtown Book Festival.

I can frequently be found talking to my Galloway cattle and seven collie dogs on my farm near Whauphill.