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A Brush with Henschel: Harbour Glow

Harbour Glow is another attempt to capture one of the moods this beautiful environment has to offer.
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A Gordon Henschel original painting.

It’s coming to that time of year when we commonly take stock of what we’ve been doing with our lives over the past months. Since most of this time my days have been involved with making paintings and with trying to keep that passion alive, this time of year is a good time to take a less than passionate look at the painter and the process.

There is a phenomena in business called the 80/20 principle that in reality applies to almost everything we do in our lives. It entails taking an objective look at how we’ve set our priorities and the way that affects our work and/or our lives in general.

The principle states that 80 per cent of our most productive work is often done in 20 per cent of the time we are working. Unfortunately, most of us do exactly the opposite, using 80 per cent of our time to do only 20 per cent of our productive work. In our lives, therefore, we have to concentrate our time on what is the most productive for us.

“So,” I ask myself, “what has all this got to do with Henschel’s painting?”

Well, chances are that where I have the most fun painting will result in my most productive work because I will tend to put the largest percentage of my effort there. Also, because of the fun factor, there will be certain places to which I keep returning.

Doesn’t going back to the same old painting spots result in boring work,? Not so! For an artist, familiarity doesn’t breed boredom but, conversely, instills confidence.

The French Impressionist, Paul Cezanne, lived in view of Mont Saint Victoire, a mountain he loved. Obsessed with it’s beauty, he painted it over a hundred times; paintings that are among his best works. The 80/20 principle was working even then!

Looking back over the years, North Island has been 80 per cent of my work and Beaver Harbour has become my obsession, my Mont Saint Victoire. I simply can’t leave it alone!

The harbour, with its many faces altered by seasons, wind and weather, is like a beautiful, temperamental woman: difficult to live with but dramatic, exciting and always stimulating.

The accompanying print, Harbour Glow, is yet another attempt to capture one of the many moods this beautiful environment has to offer. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did painting it. And if the 80/20 rule is to be taken seriously, taking 20 per cent of your walks there during the summer holiday season will result in 80 per cent of your pleasure!

Happy Summer!

Comments: email: henschel@island.net or website: www.henschelfinearts.com



Tyson Whitney

About the Author: Tyson Whitney

I have been working in the community newspaper business for nearly a decade, all of those years with Black Press Media.
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