Winding Paths by Elena Henshaw

About

Her current work directly reflects and is based on the interpretation of the Thames path and its surroundings. She loves wandering around the hidden riverside corners away from the tourist trails. These corners are often hidden from the leisure visitor but are familiar to a discerning local eye. Some parts are nearly or already gone, like the ruins of the Old Mill at the Osney Lock, having been rebuilt as luxury accommodation. Others are still there but are waiting to be changed and replaced in the process of redevelopment. Elena’s aim as an artist is to reflect and preserve in her works the look and the feel of these rather unassuming but familiar riverside century-aged corners. To intensify this feeling of historic wealth and importance, Elena uses recycled materials for her paintings, such as burlap, coffee sacks and reclaimed wood, as an addition to the canvas and often as part of the assemblage work.

When interpreting a landscape, Elena tends to follow her intuition, letting it control the creative process leading the work to its final destination. She likes to allow the recycled surface texture tell the story of its life before its current incarnation in her studio and within her work.
The preparation process using recycled materials to serve as painting surfaces is long, industrious and sometimes full of surprises.

Elena enjoys using burlap and wood with their history, texture and patina of a former life. As she works on a piece of wood or on a coffee sack and matches them to the canvas, she thinks of their previous life. This imagery gives additional inspiration.