Born in Germany, Rosi Helms and her family emigrated to Australia while she was still a child. Influenced by the late 19th C. Austrian artist Gustrav Klimt, Rosi often works in miniature to portray exotic women of the orient.

Harbouring a love for history and mythology, Rosi's work has been heavily influenced by her travels in Europe and her paintings would not seem out of place in historical European Churches or Museums. It was not, however, until 1980 when Rosi began to research different kinds of female martyrs that she started to do her own paintings of this fascinating subject, working mainly in acrylics.

One cannot help be captivated by the paintings of the women and wonder who they are, what type of life they lead and what fate became of them. It is like being transported to another time and you are given a key to a secret room where you can view and watch their private moments and hear their inner thoughts. The strong use of reds and cobalt blue really captures the beauty of these women and gold leaf literally enriches her compositions.
Rosi's inspirations come from many experiences. It can come simply from reading a description from which a picture develops in her mind or sometimes she will start by drawing a face and telling herself a story about its past.

Rosi arrived in Australia from Germany in 1956. Her family settled in Sydney and in 1969 they moved to live just outside of Cairns. Rosi fell in love with the tropics and felt it was like coming home. Rosi returned to Germany in 1972 and worked for the Australian Embassy which allowed her to travel throughout Europe, experiencing the wonderful old churches where Rosi�s admiration for the female martyr took shape. Rosi has had many exhibitions over the years and her work is collected internationally.