From the artist: There is no question that I like to show off a little. This website is partly an outlet for that very urge. But I also have a need to mark and to share the transient beauty in our lives which I feel fortunate to witness. Other people can do that perhaps with food or music or architecture. All I can do is copy nature when at its best with paints.
I would like to send special thanks to a few remarkable people I know – Thank you Jeanne, Phil and Barbara for your enduring care, interest and support in so many ways over the years.
About the artist: John Henken has been working as an artist for over 30 years. John enjoys the tactile nature of painting - the feel of the paints and brushes and strong vibrant colors. He is captivated by the way a figure or scene emerges from nothing onto a blank canvas. Given his realistic painting styles, it is not surprising he has a particular interest in Dutch Golden Age painting, Impressionism and everything Italian. The following website pages show a gallery of some of his best works including his most successful commissioned work. The Shop page displays work the artist has on-hand for sale. The Shop page also includes pricing, commission, giclee and Artist contact information.
John has a B.A. in Art Studio from the University of Maryland where he studied under Dr. Arthur Wheelock of the National Gallery of Art. He has also studied under master painters Mark DaSoullas and Danni Dawson. His paintings have been exhibited in National juried shows and he has won numerous awards in regional and local shows. Nowadays most of his artwork is commissioned in advance. John has volunteered at the Capitol Hill Artists Workshop in D.C. and is currently an associate member of the Arlington Artists Alliance (AAA) in Arlington, VA.
He has taught English as a Second Language at LADO International School in Washington, D.C. and Painting classes at the AAA in Arlington.
He now lives outside Washington, D.C. in the Maryland suburbs with his wife, Barbara and their two cats, Mulder and Rocky.
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From
the critics:
"...John
Henken's wintry trees, houses and picket fences nestle
in the late afternoon shadows of a crisp oil painting
no larger than a postcard." |
-Mary McCoy, The
Washington Post |
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| "I think [John
Henken's] work is outstanding, beyond the solitude
of each of these images is the presence of a shadow
- these shadows are not spontaneous or somehow
accidental. They are the on-purpose positioning
of one very fine artist...." |
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| "...attempts nothing
more than good, solid realism. His miniatures are precisely
what they are: well-painted scenes from life, enlivened
by a fine feeling for the animating and defining properties
of light. In [one of his paintings] he captures a clear,
crisp autumnal light that brings out the fall colors
in the trees and sharply defines the geometry of the
houses." |
-CeCe Bullard,
The Richmond Times Dispatch |
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| "We were thrown
into the gem-like far reaches of miniaturized back
yards."
-David
Tannouse, Art Critic/Art Show Juror |
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| For commission information click here. |
