Collection: Henderson, Bruce

In 1948, Bruce Henderson was born in the small town of Inverness, Cape Breton. Despite not having any access to the arts, he spent a lot of his spare time drawing. His subject matter would range anywhere from his own hands to objects around the house. It wasn't until one Christmas that he tried his hand at painting, when he received a small set of oil paints and taught himself how to paint.

Bruce came to love painting and decided to enroll in a few summer art camps during high school. After graduating, he attended Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB, where he received some formal art training.

In 1976, Bruce and his wife, Barb, moved to Bridgewater, NS, where she had acquired a teaching position. Bruce went back to school and spent the next 26 years as a lab technologist. During those busy years, he did not give up his art, painting whenever he could.

ARTIST STATEMENT

After working with oils for many years, Bruce decided to try his hand at acrylics. He admired their quick-drying quality. Inspired by artists such as Alex Colville and Tom Forrestall, he spent some time working with egg tempera, but found this medium too labour intensive.

In doing watercolour sketches as preliminary studies for his paintings, Bruce discovered that he liked the spontaneity and freedom they offered. For the next ten years, he concentrated on experimenting with watercolours. His subject matter consisted primarily of Nova Scotian landscapes and small fishing communities.

Bruce was inspired to return once again to oil painting when his daughter completed her first year at NSCAD in 2005. She worked mostly in oils with a quick-drying aid.