Hensche on Painting
Hensche on Painting
By John W. Robichaux
John Robichaux was Hensche’s student and biographer. This book examines the artist’s basic painting philosophy and methodology, as expressed in his famous classes and workshops on Cape Cod.
“The way you study with me, is by learning that art is to value and understand what comes to the retina of the eye. Painting is the logical analysis of the production process of what comes to a logical mind, and analysis of what comes on the retina. It's a universal language. The more you understand, the more you aban- don other systems. Monet demon- strated this. He gave us one way to see. Before Monet, people had their own systems. Monet showed us changes in light; that nature is visual.
You see every object the same way in a certain light scheme and light scheme is determined by the way colors differentiate themselves and pull together. The light scheme with the sun in it, or the moon, or if the shades are drawn, would be entirely different. So, the first thing you should look for in a painting is the character of the colors that express the light scheme, which you cannot separate from the painting. There is only one way to teach this…By observing points of color.”
—-Henry Hensche, The Review, “Henre Hensche Interview by A. Sporborg”, October/1986 , excerpt Pg58-61
