Interview with Bob Hendriks
You made a significant career shift from a technical role at IBM to the art world. What inspired this transition, and how has your background in technology influenced your approach to art?
I have always been creative and interested in art and design. My father was a painter and I had a teacher in elementary school who encouraged me to explore what he recognized as talent in my 14 year old sketches. My career at IBM helped to develop my understanding and interest in technology. When 9-11 hit in 2001 and moved to Canada, I had the chance to pivot my focus and spend more time tapping into my creative abilities. I think that IBM has influenced my approach to art because it taught me to plan, strategize and map out my career path. In painting, each blank canvas is a new journey, whether I am doing abstracts or pop art, I plan my journey over the canvas with a map in my head that leads me to where I want the piece to go.
As someone who has successfully ventured into entrepreneurial projects, including a commercial photo licensing company and a branding agency, how do you balance your business acumen with your artistic pursuits?
Being an entrepreneur I always look for new possibilities. My outlook on life is to make things better and or more beautiful. I think that this goal equally applies to business and art. For me, business and art feed each other and provide me with challenges, inspiration and satisfaction in my everyday life.
While many artists found the pandemic challenging for inspiration, it seems to have had the opposite effect on you. Can you elaborate on how this period fueled your creativity and led to an increase in commissions?
The pandemic threw everyone into a tailspin. Once the spin stopped, I found myself in a place of reflection. Our family ended up living under one roof for many months, and everyone had to adjust and figure out how they fit into the new machine of home. We all went through many emotions and these came out in my art. I channeled the fear, frustration, aggravation and hope of those two years into beauty and self expression. Art was my outlet and my saviour during those dark, hopeful and uncertain times.
You've mentioned your love for painting on wood and experimenting with materials like aluminum and resin in your larger studio. How do these materials contribute to the overall narrative and impact of your artwork?
The art surface carries the art and its material becomes part of the piece. I love tactile elements and I love seeing how all kinds of paint and other materials react to various surfaces. I especially like wood because it’s a living thing. I purposely leave the edges bare most of the time because they will change depending on where the piece is hung. The canvas continues to live and breathe even after it leaves my studio. Aluminum is fun because it has an innate shine that emanates under the paint and it’s much lighter than wood and easy to transport and hang. Resin is just fun and requires me to be more focused when I use it because it is an unforgiving medium that, if it dries wrong, wrecks your art!
Your work often incorporates collage and mixed media. What is the process behind selecting materials for these pieces, and how do you decide when a piece is complete?
I love working with mixed media. When I do a pop art piece, I do extensive research on the subject and look for all kinds of original and interesting information about the person that I can incorporate under the image. I recently did a commission for someone who loves Bob Dylan. I ordered his biography and found an original book of his sketches and used them in a collage for the background of the painting. I also found the music and lyrics to all my client's favourite Dylan songs and included them in the collage. Often when I have a commission piece, I choose elements that are personal to the buyer and incorporate them into the background or into the general image if it’s an abstract piece. These can include maps, numbers, original news stories from the past and more. For a piece I did for one special client, I incorporated the notes she exchanged with her best friend when they were in elementary school 30 years ago. This makes people happy, because they know that the art is created only for them. Many of my clients spend time looking for hidden messages in a piece and like to point them out to their guests. I know when a piece is complete because it just comes to a full stop and makes me satisfied. Sometimes that can take months and sometimes it’s done in an afternoon.
Your venture into pop art, incorporating figures like Queen Elizabeth and Audrey Hepburn, marks an evolution in your style. What inspired this shift, and how do you approach the integration of famous quotes and clippings in these works?
I have always loved pop art and felt that there were too many of the same versions of famous faces being done. I like to paint more obscure people or create an image that isn’t the regular way the person is portrayed. Incorporating original quotes, news pieces or special items makes my work more original and personal to the subject. I recently did a commission for someone who adores Grace Kelly. I ordered stamps from Monaco with her image so I could include them in the background. I also found prints of family portraits that included her kids in early days. My client was French speaking, so I ordered her biography in French and used the pages in my background collage. I know pop art is a trend right now and many artists are producing classic pop art pieces. I like to be original, so that my pieces withstand the test of time and are long term loved works of art in people’s homes or offices.
You include personal elements for each client in your commissioned pieces. How do you ensure these personalized aspects harmonize with the artistic integrity of the work?
When I paint something for a particular person, I spend hours interviewing them and taking notes so that I feel like I understand them, their expectations and how they feel or want to feel about the piece they are asking me to create. I usually sit with them, live if possible, at least three times and take copious amounts of notes. I also find out if they have their own personal items that they would like to incorporate into the piece. For one commission I did of Bruce Springsteen, the client had the tickets stubs and the program from a concert he attended with his son. This was a very special moment for both of them and it is now part of a family piece of art that lives in their game room.
I have always found a way to respect the integrity of my art. As much as I try to please commissioned clients or clients that simply fall in love with what they see, I will never put something in a painting that does not belong or feels wrong to me, no matter what the client asks. Often I will have someone come to the studio and say that they like a piece but….they want a different colour pallet, or different movement in an abstract piece. I invite them to come back in a few weeks and see if they can identify any other pieces that fits what they are looking for. I really believe that art is how you feel when you live with it. It should evoke something in you that makes you say “I have to have that”. It’s different for everyone. I think people have to visit an artist studio or gallery a number of times before they feel that need to own a piece.
Opening Galerie Hendriks seems like a natural progression in your career. What has been the most rewarding aspect of operating your own gallery, and how has it influenced your relationship with your audience?
My first gallery opened as a pop up that was supposed to stay open for two months during the very short Montreal summer period. It was such a success, it stayed open for eight months and my management and I only decided to close because we didn’t have the time to run a gallery and the rest of our business! I recently moved my communications and branding business and my atelier to a great new space where I can paint and exhibit and host special events all in about 3600 square feet, filled with natural light in a beautiful renovated industrial space close to the water in Montreal. My clients are impatiently waiting to explore the new space at an event we are planning for early in the new year. They are thrilled that they can come back to a gallery environment which also includes my atelier, so they can see how everything comes together.
You've mentioned a passion for travel. Can you share how your travel experiences influence your art, particularly in terms of composition, color, and texture?
Whenever you travel you gain perspective. You see new people, different light, new food and you live new experiences. Travel energizes me creatively and makes me want to take risks in my art and try new things. Most recently, I have been traveling in the South. I discovered that giant palm leaves make amazing impressions on a wood canvas. Stay tuned for more on that!
Looking ahead, what new directions or projects are you excited to explore in your art, and how do you see your dual roles as an artist and entrepreneur evolving?
Looking ahead I see a steady creative flow that will evolve as I settle into my new space and have time to really learn more about what my clients like and how they feel about the art I am creating, this is one place I find lots of inspiration. Every time someone comes to the studio and brings a friend or two, I get new ideas and insights onto how I can create an emotional response through my art. I am having a blast playing around with sculpture and spray paint and recently donated a couple of rock and roll pieces to a charity art auction for a fantastic Montreal Foundation. I will always be an entrepreneur, overflowing with new and original ideas about how to launch businesses that will satisfy my passion to make things better and more beautiful. I like being an artist and an entrepreneur, because it allows me to use both sides of my brain to the same end. This is where I find the balance and that makes me happy.
