We recently connected with Colleen Hennessy and have shared our conversation below.
Colleen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I always loved art and took my first photography class in high school. I studied photography formally in the 1980s, working at many photo labs in the days of film. Faces have always been one of my favorite subjects. I began photographing weddings and portraits as a service to others while working on my fine art photography and painting.
I love being part of people’s exciting moments. Life is filled with great moments such as birthdays, weddings, graduations, anniversaries, and family vacations. Photography is the perfect way to preserve important milestones.
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer for 27 months in Honduras. During my time on a rain forest mountaintop, I had the opportunity to make photographs of the locals and their families as we worked on various projects, including a small library and computer center for the small school in our village. Friends kept sending me paints, and this was my start as a painter. I worked in acrylics and painted from many of the photographs I made.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As a photographer, I am proud of my relaxed, journalistic approach. People will reveal their genuineness in front of the camera if I do the same. I am flexible at events and combine a variety of informal and formal photographs of people. My services include senior portraits, individuals, families, engagement photos, many types of events, and photographs of artwork.
Improvement in one’s craft comes with experience and hard work, but inspiration is also essential for the artist who wants to develop his or her talent to the fullest. My creative fire is kindled by the people I meet. Making and sharing my work is as integral to my life as eating and sleeping.
The main catalyst for my endeavor is the joy that I experience and am able to share with others. My creative fire is kindled by the people I have met in my world travels to places like Mexico, Honduras and Ireland.
Photography and painting have indeed filled my life— filled it with endless visual excitement, as well as the challenge and satisfaction of capturing moments. It is a way of being in the world, of participating in life. These two mediums are the celebration of the events and wonder of life. People and landscapes are my favorite subjects, at home or abroad. To see, react, and record is my continuous search with no shining end in sight except to go on trying.
My loose, somewhat abstract approach to painting is my emotional response to events, surroundings, and memories. I strive to make my art deliver a response; a summation expressed in vibrant colors conveying an overall feeling.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the joy it brings my soul. I love it when someone buys a painting, but I think that art is never a failure if there’s passion by the artist. Studies have shown that expressing themselves through art can help people with depression, anxiety, or cancer, too. And doing so has been linked to improved memory, reasoning, and resilience.
Other rewards I have experienced both happened in 2022. The first one was a 5-week painting residency during the Van Gogh exhibit at Lighthouse Immersive in Denver. I painted and visited patrons all day. I sold a lot of work and received many positive comments. Later in 2022, I was a recipient of the Eric L. Porter Scholarship at Art Gym Denver. This generous 6-month opportunity has provided me with a beautiful studio space for painting, along with a stipend for materials.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
The art world is enormous and competitive. Think of all the artwork created by millions of people around the world. The competition is mind boggling. The failure is not the artist’s. The failure is that the artist is an unknown. Art is a business. Art is bought every day to decorate homes, offices, etc.. You’re never a failure.
You’re a creator. Getting your work known is a challenging task. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is, and will continue to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://colleenhennessy.wixsite.com/portfolio
- Instagram: @cohennes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cohennes
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-hennessy-835b25143/