Michael Henry

Artist Statement

I am a self-taught artist (a.k.a. Michelangelo to my mother-in-law, lol) who paints in an intensely detailed style that allows my paintings to be appreciated on different levels.  Just as a tree can be appreciated for its beauty both when viewed in its totality from a distance and when its individual leaves are viewed up-close, so should my paintings be viewed.  They should first be viewed from across the room for their overall beauty, and then inches from the canvas to study the multitude of intricately intertwined patterns, each beautiful in its own right, that combine to make up the whole.  Also images, words and symbols are often hidden within the patterns that can only be found by careful inspection and a keen eye! 

It is hard to understand my painting style without seeing it. Some people have suggested it's similar to the pointillism used by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac because of its frequent use of dots as its final layer.  However,  pointillism is not an accurate description because the dots are not the heart of my style.  The heart of my style is instead its multitude of detailed, intricate patterns that are intertwined to make up the whole. 

Contextural is an adjective used to describe a technique of  weaving together many separate parts to construct a unified whole. I can't think of a more apt description of my painting style. Each of my paintings has been a journey taking many months as the individual patterns were created and intertwined. Thus my name for my paintings - contextural journeys.

 Each of the patterns is painted freehand in acrylic, using multiple layers of color and texture to provide depth and vibrancy to the paintings. The individual patterns are not planned out, but instead come from my subconscious as I paint.  I consider these patterns to be innate, primitive art.  As each individual pattern is completed, it influences the subsequent patterns. Because of the intense detail and multi-layering of my work, and the use of the smallest possible brush or toothpick, each painting takes considerable time to complete. As a result, some of my larger paintings take close to two years to finish, working on them as many as 35 hours a week.  

 In some of my paintings, I let the individual patterns grow into abstract and mystical creations.  However in other paintings, I depict people, animals, flowers and places I have encountered around the world (including Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and New Zealand) that have made lasting impressions on me.