Steve Henderson | Artist

Steve Henderson

Steve Henderson has seen a lot of the world on the back of a bicycle, having pedaled his way through Latin and South America three times. After earning his Bachelor of Fine Art from Central Washington University in 1984, he and his wife, Carolyn, settled for a year in the mountains of Colombia, living in a broom-closetturned-bedroom at the home of Colombian friends. (Thirty years later, Steve’s son Jordan reconnected with those same friends in Medellin, Colombia.)

Upon returning to the United States, Steve embarked upon a successful career in illustration, providing general and medical work to a lay medical publishing company. In 2006, right around the time of the Great Recession, Steve launched his fine art gallery, and the first thing he did was take Best of Show at two separate regional art shows. But prizes are different than sales, and he and Carolyn quickly learned that a fine art business requires two things: a quality product (and although Steve himself is adamant about creating highly skilled, truly well done paintings, contemporary business does not demand this as long as whatever is being sold is heavily promoted in the right places) and 2) incredible perseverance in getting that product out in front of people.

About his art, Steve says: “I look for, and paint, beauty, as a counteracting effect of our media-saturated fascination with ugliness. Yes, the world is a brutal place, but it is also our home. There is peace, serenity, quietude, thoughtfulness, majesty, grace, joy, and hope in this home of ours — and that is what I paint.”