Painter and illustrator Samuel Hencher creates cinematic landscapes and cityscapes in watercolours and oils. His debut collection with Castle Fine Art, Street Life, sees him capture Birmingham’s iconic waterways, streets and landmarks, taking viewers on a voyage of discovery around the UK’s second city.
SAMUEL HENCHER S T R E E T L I F E
SAMUEL HENCHER S T R E E T L I F E
A study in urban exploration, Street Life by acclaimed artist Samuel Hencher takes the viewer on a voyage of discovery around the UK’s second city, offering a new perspective through watercolours and oil paintings. Hencher intends to evoke the sense of flicking through his sketchbook; they are familiar landscapes as seen through the eyes of an artist. From Birmingham’s iconic waterways to vistas across its unmistakable skyline, the residual industrialism of the city juxtaposes its polished modernity in this captivating body of work. Hencher’s paintings are as traditional as they are divergent. Commonplace scenes are made dramatic by the light, whilst classical compositions are delivered with modern application. Any pursuit of perfection is an anathema to Hencher; his penchant for working from sketches or studies rather than reference photography stems from his belief that it “keeps the work looser and truer”. Similarly, he has developed a technique of applying multiples layers to his oil paintings to achieve a slightly mottled finish, keeping the overall presentation from appearing too polished and refined, lest it lose its authenticity.
elite Florence Academy of Art, he has subsequently veered away from some of the more technical aspects of his education to develop a freer style of working. Hencher’s focus is always on the painting itself, rather than on the subject of the painting. Mastery over the space within each scene, along with a virtuosity of touch, allows the artist to draw through the light as his focal point. He observes: “The more mundane the location, the more the light is allowed to take centre stage and play a key role.” author Henry Miller, who painted throughout his life – Hencher is a multidisciplinary artist. The cinematic feel to his work may be attributed in part to his career as a visual effects artist with a specialism in Flame software and a background producing music videos and directing commercials. He relates this back to his observational artistic style, adding: “The human eye is essentially a 35mm lens.” That lens, both anatomically and metaphorically, has been trained upon the city of Birmingham to bring forth the impressionistic flair that makes Street Life a collection worthy of such note. Like so many true creatives before him – from celebrated poet and painter William Blake to the
His pedigree is prodigious; a former student at the
ORIGINAL OIL ON CANVAS | 45.5CM X 35.5CM ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM CANAL S IDE (LEFT) CANAL E ARLY MORNING (ABOVE)
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM BLUE SK IES
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 40CM X 28.5CM ORIGINAL OIL ON CANVAS | 30CM X 60CM CI T Y SE ASONS I (LEFT) MEMORIES (ABOVE)
OAS IS (ABOVE)
CI T Y SE ASONS II (RIGHT)
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 40CM X 28.5CM
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 38.5CM X 28.5CM ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM CI T Y SE ASONS III (LEFT) THE MONUMENT II (ABOVE)
INT ERSEC T ION (ABOVE)
CI T Y SE ASONS IV (RIGHT)
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 40CM X 28.5CM
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM S T PAUL’S SUNL IGHT
AU T UMN’S AIR (ABOVE)
S T REE T L IFE (RIGHT)
ORIGINAL OIL ON CANVAS | 50CM X 70CM
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 28CM X 40CM
“I paint very quickly without the aid of photos as reference - using sketches made in situ and memory to achieve a looser, less laboured ef fect .”
NAT URE’S CANOPY
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 18CM X 49CM
THE FOUNTAIN (ABOVE)
SHADOWS (RIGHT)
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 29CM X 39CM
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 23CM X 29CM
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 59CM ROUND THE CORNER
OUR LOCAL (ABOVE)
IN THE SHADOWS (RIGHT)
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 14.5CM X 29CM
ORIGINAL OIL ON CANVAS | 30CM X 60CM SOF T L IGHT
IN THE CROWD (ABOVE)
DA Z ZL ING L IGHT (RIGHT)
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 27CM X 34CM
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 27CM X 34CM
PASSING BY (LEFT)
THE SPIRE (ABOVE)
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 27CM X 34CM
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR | 15CM X 45CM
ORIGINAL OIL ON CANVAS | 30CM X 60CM S T PHIL IP’S GLOW
“My aim is to convey a feeling or emotion that the viewer can relate to without worrying too much about the actual subject of the painting.”
SPL ASH OF RED (LEFT)
EMP T Y S T REE T S (ABOVE)
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM
COLMORE MAGIC (ABOVE)
SUNBURS T (RIGHT)
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 59CM
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM BACKS T REE T S
PUB ON THE CORNER (ABOVE)
THE CALM OF HOME (RIGHT)
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CM
ORIGINAL OIL ON BOARD | 30CM X 60CMM
SAMUEL HENCHER
Born: 1971, Newcastle upon Tyne Lives and works: Berlin, Germany
Education: Bradford College of Art, Florence Academy of Art Awards: Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year finalist (2018) Exhibitions: Saatchi Art, TOAF (Bristol, 2016), TOAF (London, 2017), TOAF (London, 2019)
Samuel Hencher is an English painter and illustrator, who now divides his time between his homes in Yorkshire and Berlin. During his successful career to date as a visual effect artist creating Grammy award-winning music videos and directing commercials, Samuel painted consistently throughout. He cites John Singer Sergant, Anders Zorn and contemporary Bristol-based painter Peter Brown as his main influences.
Samuel works predominantly in oils and watercolours, encapsulating landscape, cityscape and figurative subject matter. He describes his style as being ‘more inspired by the light and mood of the subject than the physical element that is used to convey it.’ In their October 2019 issue, Harper’s Bazaar wrote of Samuel: ‘Using light to create atmosphere, he focuses on what we see but don’t notice…’
SAMUEL HENCHER S T R E E T L I F E
The images contained within this literature are an artistic representation of the collection. To best experience our art, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. © Washington Green 2019. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no part can be reproduced without prior permission.
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