Painting, for me, is like breathing fresh air, eating healthy food, doing yoga, getting sun, traveling. It nourishes my body and helps me make order of my life. Gratifying, terrifying, necessary. Sometimes over-thinking, sometimes under planning, always letting my intuition take over. Relaxing into it. Letting the process unfold.

I paint in a few different styles and mediums, but my use of color is the cohesive thread that weaves them all together. My “first love” is watercolors. I love the visceral feeling of the paint going onto a piece of Arches 140lb cold press paper, and how I can control the “happy accidents” by adding more or less water to the brush. I am guided by the materials. Sometimes I experiment with hot press and other substrates. Often, I incorporate inked lines, words or wax pastels to enhance an area, or to add interest. I primarily paint birds, abstracts, florals and street scenes from my travels in this medium.

PUBLISHED & LICENSED ART

Grand Wood Wall Art - selling direct to stores, Etsy and Wayfair

Backyard Bird Shop - cards and mugs

Book of Blessings by Athena Perrakis - illustrations

I’m always open to new licensing partnerships and projects with brands that share my values.

My goal for my art is to make it accessible and to be a vehicle for people to connect, know that they are not alone and to heal, find joy and balance in life. To forgive. 

I was born in Chicago in 1969, grew up in north county San Diego from the age of five, spent eight years in Orange County, California and have resided in Portland, Oregon since 1995. I also spent summers throughout my childhood on an island in Wisconsin called Washington Island, where both of my parents grew up. The contrast between California and Wisconsin formed my earliest influence on art and how I saw and translated the world – from the warm coast of So Cal with it’s fine sand and big crashing waves, to the rocks, lapping waves, fresh and sometimes clear as glass waters of Lake Michigan.

Washington Island is where I honed my skills of dreaming, observing and noticing subtle differences in clouds, trees, wind and water. Where I would sit in a lawn chair and attempt to capture my Grandmother’s house or a vase of flowers in watercolors before having any formal training.

From this young age, I always knew that I wanted a career in a creative field, but when it came to making a decision I chose design and went into the competitive graphic design program at Cal State, Long Beach. During this time, I had the opportunity to take art classes and learn many of the techniques I still use today.

Upon graduating, I pursued a successful career in graphic design in Portland, Oregon. As time passed, however, many of my needs in life were not being met, so at 39, I quit my corporate job as Senior Graphic Designer. At that time, I recognized how painting put me in a meditative state – actually shifting my consciousness like going on a long run, so I began painting to “de-stress” from difficult times. Because of this awareness, I contemplated getting a degree in Art Therapy, but in the end, decided against it and continued creating art as much for healing myself, as for those collecting and viewing my art.

Since my first intimate art show in 2008, I've been building a foundation for my art, investing more and more time, energy and money, evolving it from a practice to a business.

GET CONNECTED

Andrea Henning Art, Portland, OR 97217

My art business has been designated as a "Trusted Art Seller" with The Art Storefronts Organization, which means you can shop with confidence, and know that I stand behind the quality and value of my products.