Helen Jimenez is a locally-trained painter whose artwork work has been exhibited at arts & crafts fairs, the College of San Mateo, Foster City Recreation Center, local banks, night clubs and the Peninsula Art Association gallery exhibits. As well, some of her paintings are for sale at a South Lake Tahoe shop and she has done several commissioned pieces. Since 1984, she has studied art with various Bay Area instructors and institutions, on the Peninsula and in Marin County.

Thoughts:

As I painted this mask -- picking up colors here and there, re-aligning, re-shaping, even changing colors — it changed from my initial pencil-drawn concept and became more primitive looking. I'd expected to work on it for an hour or so, but instead worked spontaneously into the wee hours of the morning, as I was truly immersed in its creation. It turned out so simple, yet with symbolism in its colors and shapes. It seemed to have popped out of the spontaneous inner 'me' and, in looking at the finished piece, I drew energy from it. So, I named it The Light From Within.