Bayside 24

Art, like writing, is purely subjective. Critics and experts can critique brushstroke and grammar, but, to me, the true litmus test is how art touches the heart.
Patrick Henry's art touches mine. Attending The Waterline Gallery's reception last Friday night, entitled "Transitions", I realized I was not alone. Fellow artists Bill and Deborah Rolig sent a bouquet of vibrant sunflowers, and Patrick was engulfed by well-wishers. Gallery owners Karen and David Prengaman provided finger foods, and the crowd sipped wine as they viewed the paintings spanning 20 years of his body of work.
Patrick's eyes hold a light that intrigues me, and when he graciously offered to speak with me the following day, I couldn't wait. We sat in his backyard gazebo, with a pitcher of ice water and a backdrop of homegrown, red tomatoes as a backdrop.
"God is where you take your energy." Patrick calmly stated. With that statement, I knew the source of the light in his eyes. I put down my eager little pen and just listened.
You see, Patrick Henry the artist was almost Patrick Henry the teacher, but he chose to follow his heart instead of his head. Spending the summer in Richmond, Va., Patrick was readying himself for graduate work towards his teaching professorship. A call for help from his mom changed his mind, and he returned to Berlin, instead. Often heart choices are painful and confusing, and only time's perspective clarifies intuitive wisdom.
It was in Berlin that he became reacquainted with the love of his life, Velda, his wife of 16 years. One of the pictures in the exhibit is of the sea, with three birds skipping across the sand. He gave it to Velda early in their marriage for Christmas, when that's all he could afford. It still hangs in their den today. He pursued his art, though not without resistance from family and friends. Patrick shook his head slowly, and said, "They told me to just give it up, and quit pipe-dreaming." He continued, " I became a success in spite of it all. He continued painting, interspersed with art in it's more commercial form. He was noted as the graphic artist in the 80's renovation of The Atlantic Hotel, and made hand-painted t-shirts and signs. As his works became celebrated, he branched out and opened The Henry Art Center, in Berlin. Life was to take another unexpected turn, with the deaths of 4 family members in two years. Increased family pressures, his growing popularity outside the boundaries of Delmarva, coupled with the daily operation of the center , caused his artistic focus to blur.
He decided to let go of The Henry Art Center, and concentrate his focus on his painting and his family. He paints now with inspirational tapes and posters as his companion, in his studio behind his house.
This morning before I started writing, I went back to The Waterline Gallery to get another feel for his work. I walked the length of the exhibit, and found myself captured by three paintings created since closing his art center this past July. The brushstrokes are deeper, the colors richly multifaceted. They have the depth of a mature man, sharing his vision with the world.
I idly flipped through the gallery guest book from Saturday night’s reception. In it I found a passage from Patrick and Velda's daughter, Stephanie. "My Dad is the best painter in the Universe. I wish he will never change!" That's my idea of true success. See you next week!