Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Henry Stinson
Henry Stinson, painting
Henry Stinson paints as the audience watches at the Colfax library April 21.
Derby Muse No. 1, 2014, an example of Stinson's work.
Artist Henry Stinson, newly of Colfax, made an appearance at the Whitman County Library Thursday, April 21, and fielded questions while painting a 10-year-old girl from the audience.
Born in Anchorage and educated at WSU and the Seattle Art Institute, Stinson's stark, impressionistic portraits hung in the Colfax Library in March and April.
Once his volunteer, Naomi Duff, was seated in a chair under a light, Stinson began to mix paint, facing a 12 X 16-inch canvas.
The audience called out questions.
He told of how he first developed his style in black and white, studying under an artist named Ron Lukas in Seattle. Lukas is now an art director for Dreamworks Pictures in Los Angeles, whose students would begin with still-lifes before graduating to figure drawing.
Stinson's father was a drill sergeant for the Army, whose two sons became artists.
“The only painting of mine my dad ever reacted to was when I did still lifes of Volkswagen Beetle parts,” he said.
Another question came from the audience.
“Do you have a favorite painting?”
“I fall in love for about a day to a week,” Stinson said. “Favorites are how I felt when I was painting them.”
Engaging with Duff, he explained something.
“If you just sit there long enough, your blood will sink into your body cavity and your color leaves your face,” he said.
At WSU, while working toward a bachelor of fine arts degree in ceramics, Stinson spent summers at a job in the freezer of a meatpacking plant on Seattle's Capitol Hill. Afterward, he studied for two years at the Burnley School of Commercial Art, later part of the Art Institute of Seattle. He has since taught classes, worked as an illustrator and sold his own work.
“You can't be economical in paint,” he said to another question. “It's more important to get the color right.”
Does he paint every day?
“In a perfect world,” he said. “It hasn't been perfect for awhile.”
Asked his opinion on some renowned artists, he said some are like lighthouses – a beacon or a warning, noting Jackson Pollack's use of house paint, which deteriorates faster than other types.
When did he feel like he knew he could be a professional?
“I'm still waiting for that day,” he said.
To another question, Stinson told of how he will not pay more than $4 for a No. 4 brush or $6 for a No. 6 brush.
What art does he collect?
“Paintings that don't sell,” he said to laughter.
The “Meet the Artist” event was sponsored by the Colfax Arts Council.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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