If Hobbema Had Seen Ireland 1989

Jeremy Henderson made "If Hobbema Had Seen Ireland" with oils on canvas, and there's a real feeling of process here, like the painting almost painted itself. The way the paint is layered, thick in places, especially in the sky, gives it a real sense of depth. It’s not just a flat surface; you can almost feel the movement of the clouds, the weight of the air. And then, lower down, those strokes of white and pale blue, suggesting water, or reflections in the water, they're like fleeting thoughts, barely there but essential to the whole thing. There’s a kind of urgency to the marks, a need to capture something ephemeral. Looking at it, I can’t help but think about Turner, his stormy seas and skies. But Henderson brings something different, a rawness. It’s a conversation across time, each artist finding their own way to grapple with the world around them, and the messy, beautiful act of trying to capture it on canvas.