Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lynette K Henderson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lynette K, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I have been a visual artist since I could first hold a crayon, but my professional artistic pursuits began in my 20s. I actually started college in the medical field, thinking about both an interest in science and future employment. However, stymied by the math in scientific disciplines, I moved into journalism (I am an avid reader), then advertising, then design, and finally found my home in what was called “Fine Art”. Once committed to that, I pursued a BFA (1982) and MFA (1989), both of which of course I enjoyed tremendously, finding opportunities for travel, research, grants, teaching, and exhibition. Then when those programs were over I was released into the world to make my own way.

At that time there was not much on offer for actual how-to career information, it was mostly sink or swim. Today there are endless methods to exhibit one’s artwork, but back in the pre-digital era, it was the traditional application of sending slides with a return envelope to strangers and hoping they would respond positively, or at least send the expensive slides back. Success is still very much wrapped around making personal connections, but there are many ways to make that happen now, in addition to showing up in person. In any case, after piecemeal teaching and other non-art jobs, I determined that I had to make a consistent living and eventually went into museum education; after a circuitous route, some years later I earned a Ph.d in Art Education, becoming a teacher-educator. The art education career was very rewarding in many ways, but I always had the plan to return to professional studio practice, so in that way, there is no real “retirement” for me. Here I am now back in my original home in studio art! Yes, in some ways I wish I had not taken the detour into education, I like to imagine my artwork would be much further developed over the last 20-some years and perhaps I would have established venues to show my work. However, that career has provided me in my later life with a means to both live adequately and make art. It’s always a trade-off: it’s either “money or time”, I’ve heard said by artists, and looking back who’s to say what “would have been”.

Lynette K, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am primarily a painter, with recent forays into sculpture. I love to observe animal life, photograph them, and represent animals in various art forms; I am interested in the beauty and “otherness” of their biological selves. I am also very interested in animal behaviors, along with issues of loss and resilience in their environments, so I often incorporate visual commentary on the problematic circumstances between human habitation, nature, and wildlife.

In my studies of the above, I am finding that there is very little space on the surface of the earth that has not been manipulated or interfered with by humans, resulting in huge losses to nature and therefore wildlife. Also the speed of global climate change, much of which has resulted from human activities. What little wildlife that is left on earth (a 73% percent reduction in the last century, according to 2024 UN climate action reports) appears to be there by the grace of those humans who work to conserve, or in areas where somehow humans just haven’t yet consumed all the resources.

Living on the outskirts of a huge city, Los Angeles, I both partake of and am an observer of big city habitats, taking advantage of the interface of wildlife and human city spaces. Generally, in talking with others I find that many people these days have little knowledge or interest in nature, animals, or knowledge about the realities of just how little wilderness and wildlife is left on earth. Everyone has heard of climate change, but few people know how it works, and for most people, it seems overwhelming to change how we live. I blame a lack of interest and knowledge in large part on a great reduction in K-12 science education, as well as the rampant global consumerism over the last 30-some years. Digital cartoons where animals speak English (or other human languages) have replaced a more serious study of biological life with microscopes and field trips to the wilderness. Therefore in my artwork, while enjoying the fascination I have with animal forms, I am also attempting to bring some of these dichotomies forward in visual form, and perhaps debunk some of the visual stereotypes of wildlife.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I find that many non-creatives (that is, people who do not engage in creative work) have a belief that native talent is the main driver of success. I think many people believe that you are born with the skills and knowledge that take years to develop, not understanding that yes, it is helpful to have a proclivity towards something but that – unless one is a prodigy – it is just the beginning of the journey. A person has to build on the foundations of (so-called) talent and learn concepts, skills, history, culture, tools and materials, and language. And once those things are learned it is a matter of continuous practice and exploration. This is all aside from the marketing of one’s work, which is a whole other world. So, if there is anything I could wish for in terms of the non-creatives understanding of creative work, it is an appreciation of the above. Perhaps that could also help explain how the cost of creative work comes about when they are comparing the price of a one-of-a-kind item with mass-produced items. Ideally, I might also wish for some knowledge about a capitalist economy and the relationship between art and artists as it functions in the United States, where art and other creative works are viewed (falsely) as luxuries unless they can fit into the economic structure. Maybe all of this awareness would help create more advocates for visual art, which pervades all aspects of human life.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

As a visual artist, the most rewarding aspect is being able to have the means to express ideas that interest me and to work with materials to communicate on a visual level. I feel that is a way of sharing that is very different from verbal expression, I can illustrate what I mean in ways that are difficult to articulate with words. There is tremendous freedom in this, especially once I get to the place where what I am doing communicates what I intended! Also, the process engages the right side of the brain, so I feel that my whole brain gets a workout. As an educator, I enjoyed seeing students eventually embrace this and come to see the full value of the creative process.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lynettekhendersonart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynettekhenderson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynette.henderson.71/

Image Credits

Studio photo of Artist: photo by Patricia Fortlage. Artwork photos are all by the artist.