About the Artist - Steve Henderson
August 2021 Issue
About the Cover Artist — Steve Henderson
By Kelly Hunter
Steve Henderson is an incredibly prolific artist, working in charcoal, oil and watercolor to depict landscapes, seascapes and the human experience in different environments. When discussing his process, Steve often uses words like “we” and “our.” He explains: “That is what Steve Henderson Fine Art is—a partnership with my wife, Carolyn. Marketing, writing, making contacts, social media, the books all require a lot of time. So does painting. So, I paint, Carolyn writes. A marriage made in heaven.”
Steve received his B.A. in Fine Art and worked as an illustrator for 20 years. He jokes that it took him years to overcome the teachings of his formal education. “After my heavily European/North American-centric art history at the university, I expanded my art appreciation through the world of art books: museum collections; catalogue raisonnés on individual artists; books on Victorian art; Impressionism, Orientalism, books on the Russians, the Scandinavians, the Chinese, the Spanish, Italians and British who were never mentioned in class. I now possess a collection of some 200 volumes.”
In addition to books, Steve has found inspiration in travel. “I traveled for two and a half years bicycling throughout North and South America, a journey that opened my mind to a much greater world view and understanding of myself and others.” He is also influenced by what he sees close to home. He and Carolyn live on a seven-acre farmette in rural Washington, where they homeschooled their four children. Steve says his “converted barn-to-studio is full of paintings, canvases, frames, easels, work tables, a wood stove and a dog named Lucy.”
The couple often visit the beach. One of those trips inspired this month’s cover art: Catching The Breeze. Steve used his skills “in photography, Adobe Photoshop, human figurative drawing and working with models” to bring landscape and figure together. “In Catching The Breeze, the free-spirited woman is our youngest daughter. This scene first developed as a sketch; I had the sunset photo reference and the memory of our daughter strolling through the surf…We constructed an outdoor environment where she was placed in the right lighting and lighting direction, put in front of a breeze-inducing fan and photographed. I used Photoshop to bring all the many elements into one unified reference.”
Carolyn’s description of the resulting artwork says: “It invites us in with the strolling woman, to kick off our shoes and walk in the sand and surf in the last light of the day. It is a time of reflection, thought, meditation, quiescence and peace—emotions that the surf and the sea spark in the hearts of those who visit, or live on, the coast.” We may live on the opposite coast from Steve and Carolyn, but we share their appreciation of the magic of coastal life.
For original paintings and commissions, visit stevehendersonfineart.com. For prints,
visit SteveHendersonCollections.com or 2-steve-henderson.pixels.com. For questions,
feel free to write his wife and manager, Carolyn, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..