Nature of Nature 230 017 2004

Jeremy Henderson made this large painting, "Nature of Nature 230 017", with oil on canvas. It's a shimmering world of blues and greens, where the brushstrokes feel like light dancing on water, or maybe the breath of wind through leaves. You can see the process in the layers of paint, how he's built up the image bit by bit. Look closely at the lower half of the painting, where the blues deepen. There are horizontal strokes that give a real sense of movement, as if the water is flowing right before your eyes. Then, notice the ghostly white oval on the right, like a portal or maybe a ripple in time. It doesn’t quite contain the scene, but suggests something beyond what we see. Henderson reminds me a bit of Joan Mitchell, in the way he captures a feeling more than a literal representation of nature. It’s not just about what you see, but how it makes you feel. It’s about the ever changing, elusive, nature of nature.