COMMISSION
a portrait !

THE WHOLE STORY:
 
*Visual Art has always supported me - Lifted me and help me through challenging times and the tides of life.

I was born in Montreal, Canada. As a very young child I watched my parents who were crafty - My mom knitted and made objects with felt and my dad did some carpentry. After my parents split we moved to Toronto where my siblings and I were raised by our mom. In elementary school i always loved ‘art’ period. Time went by so quickly.  As a teen I became interested in Graffiti art and began a mural painting practice. As a Graffiti Artist I was one of the pioneers in the Toronto scene. My work was included in the legendary book that outlines the history of T.O. graffiti - TORONTO GRAFFITI - The human behind the wall edited by Yvette Farkas. I wrote the word ‘hope’ for a variety of reasons - one being I recognized there was a lot of suffering in the world and also because my mom had become terminally ill. Half way through high school I wished to take art more seriously and was accepted to a special Visual Art focussed high school program at Central Technical School in Toronto.  From CTS I went on to study at the Ontario College of Art and Design - OCAD. Just before commencing my studies at OCAD my Mom passed away.

My studies at art school and my graffiti mural practice were forms of support while I grieved. They prevented me from falling into self destructive activities and behaviours.

After studying Sculpture/Installation and Environmental Design (Interior Architecture and Design) at OCAD, I started working and became an industrial cabinetmaker.  After 4.5 yrs cabinetmaking with GibsonGreenwood Inc. and then a short 2 yr stint as a Junior then Intermediate Interior Designer (where i predominantly designed by hand drawing) with William Anderson I shifted focus to making very fine custom work - Furniture and Objects in wood and metal. I had the good fortune of assisting and pursuing informal working apprenticeships with Japanese Wood Worker Kazuo Murotani and Internationally renowned Artist Gord Peteran. These artist/makers and my working with them had a very powerful influence on me.
 
I finally established my independence pursuing a steady stream or fine furniture and object commissions.  I had became a studio furniture maker - an artist who makes totally custom one off pieces for the wealthy that can afford to pay for how much work goes into very fine objects. 
Alongside my whole furniture journey, the practice of yoga became established in my life. I then learned to teach and taught yoga in the yoga tradition of T. KRISHNAMACHARYA sometimes known as Viniyoga.  My teacher, Rosemary Jeannes Antze, was a student of T.K.V. Desikachar, who was the son of the legendary yoga master Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.  Furniture making and Yoga were an unusual mix but the perfect balance for me. Life was really good. I had arrived where i wanted to be. I was doing the things I loved and was surviving and thriving. The work was creative, stimulating and a joy. Clients were amazing and the yoga students were wonderful. I loved every day. It felt like the path was completely set and moving forward after a lengthy 15-20 yr. period of foundation work. It seemed this was my life work.

THEN ONE DAY WHILE TRAVELLING ON MY BIKE I WAS HIT AND RUN OVER BY A MINI VAN OPERATED BY A DISTRACTED CARELESS DRIVER. 

I came very close to dying while stuck under the wheel of a vehicle. The result - 15 Fractures, a traumatic Brain Injury, a punctured lung, damage to my inner ear impacting my balance & PTSD. I was alive and incredibly grateful for this…. but life stopped in many ways….
…Or should we say changed… dramatically.  The next 4 years were focussed on rehabilitation.

Through the rehabilitation process, I began to explore visual art. I started with abstract painting.  With the help of a one of my rehab workers, I learned to approach art making without expectation. This is very different from the guy who ‘designed everything’ !  Here I found a freedom, a joy and a refuge from regular rehabilitation. I discovered ‘simplicity’ as it was necessary for me to make work that met “my cognitive ability”. The brain injury left me sensitive to anything visually complex and overly stimulating…. So working with simple shapes and colour relationships became my nourishing go to. I left most art therapy sessions (but not all - TBI is mysterious I’ll tell you) with a feeling of accomplishment and a mind that was at ease having tapped into the timeless, meditative creative process - a place where one becomes nothing, immersed in being.

Once again, art shows up in my life to support me and provide insight, inquiry, healing and meditation.

In the last year of my rehabilitation process I felt ready to challenge myself further artistically and cognitively. I started to explore portrait painting influenced by Bold School. Still facing concussion symptoms, this was a big challenge but the challenge I needed and desired. As uncomfortable as it was I continued up against all the mental processing one does when creating a portrait. It sure is demanding on the brain!! Gradually, my tolerance developed.  I noticed painting portraits was starting to help me on many levels. One thing I did was carefully choose to paint happy looking people and people immersed in concentration. With all the losses from the accident my mental health had taken a big hit. The depression, anxiety and PTSD were very challenging at times, yet when I worked on painting images of  happy people, I could feel a lift, a lightness and a hopefulness.

And again art making provides support, healing and insight into life.

So let's sum it up!

I’ve been an artist since my beginning and I’ve painted my whole life, but I’ve never called myself a painter till now
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I’M STEVEN HENDERSON AND I’M A PORTRAIT PAINTER AND I WOULD LOVE TO PAINT A PORTRAIT FOR YOU.
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Let's get something going as soon as possible.  Are you ready?