Over the last thirty- plus years the natural and inhabited landscape have evolved as the consistant subject for Henry Isaacs' pictures. From gestural abstractions to more realistically defined images, these have clear origins from Henry's many years of observational, anatomical and studio work. In the '70's and '80's Henry often painted figure poses spanning many weeks. These days, Henry returns to favorite sites, as if to a still life, bringing even greater intensity in his plein-aire analysis. The subjects that Isaacs paints year-round are often reachable only by hiking or back country skiing. His great love of nature is evident in his views of glistening snowfields and staccato-like visions of desert flowers, in the luminous violet of storms as well as in the warm bright reds of sunlit flowers. Henry is fond of admitting that he holds a rarified lifestyle. "Who else gets to go to the world's most extraordinary spots, and be paid to sit contemplating vast expanses of sky and earth, or to paint amidst the delightful intimacy of a friend's garden." Works by Henry Isaacs have been placed in public and corporate institutions as well as in private collections across the country. Universities, law firms, conference centers, banks and individuals have commissioned paintings and drawings of specific locations. Isaacs received degrees in painting and printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design and at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London. He has taught in art schools in Britain, Italy, and the US., and maintains a home and studio on Little Cranberry Island off the coast of Maine.
Artists Statement
