Multi-media artist, Emma Henry is based in British Columbia, Canada. She began her career only a couple of years ago, as a teenager. Breaking into an industry that is known for supporting more experienced artists, speaks to the incredible talents of this newcomer to the art scene.
Emma’s art and style is dynamic and ever changing, as she continues to learn about new mediums and focus on various subject matter. Initially, Emma painted animals, capturing their incredible beauty and emotion. She spent a number of years on this subject matter, creating detailed photorealistic pieces. She took a year’s hiatus from art, during a difficult period in her life. Using this time to reflect, Emma decided to focus on people. In many ways, it was a given that she would eventually turn her attention to creating portraits. Her love of people watching and her interest in studying mood and feelings has always captured her attention. With the endless ways people express themselves, Emma is drawn to re-creating this energy on canvas.
In 2019, Emma started to paint again. Using acrylic paint to create minimalist pop portraits, she creates pieces that are meant to pop and jump off the canvas. Not one to shy away from important issues, Emma turned her attention to The Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, as it caught her attention instantly.
Using her lived experience as motivation, she knew that she had to incorporate current issues of social justice into her art. Her focus during this time was to honour the victims and share their stories, their voices. In doing so and in being present at rallies and protests, Emma also saw positivity in the world. She saw people of various backgrounds coming together for a common goal. Using this time to see the experience of others as well as the opportunity to learn more about herself, helped Emma see the beauty in others. This challenging time helped transform her art, where she create portraits to capture the beauty she sees in others, with the intent to help others see the beauty that is all around them.
Emma loves what she does, cherishing painting for the enjoyment of it. The underpinning of her work really is about soul and emotion. With such a long career ahead of her, it will be interesting to see where Emma’s journey takes her. As she see so many growth opportunities and a willingness to explore new styles, subject matter and media, one never knows what to expect from Emma next. Whatever she decides, it will be exciting to see what this young talent has next in store for the art world.
Naughty 9ine Fast Facts with Emma Henry
I have been creating… art since I was about eleven years old.
It takes me around… three to ten hours to do a piece.
When creating my go to drink is… usually something hot like coffee or tea.
My playlist when creating includes… all sorts of different artists and genres, but usually rock when painting.
One famous person I would love to meet for dinner… is Thom Yorke. He’s just incredibly talented, and I feel like I’d learn a lot from him life wise.
I am currently binge-watching… documentaries. I don’t care what it’s about, I just am in a learning mood lately!
The last book I read was… “The Dwarves” by Markus Heitz. I love fantasy novels, as they inspire me with their epic worlds and complicated storylines.
Outside of the arts, my interests and passions include… writing, the circus, and piano.
My go to comfort food is… French toast. My mom used to make it for me every morning, and my grandmother continued the tradition whenever I was at her house.
