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Sharing Work from 2020/2021 — The First Steps

These early artwork pieces from 2020/2021 became the first steps in my developing art practice. These pieces became the foundation for the themes I’m exploring today: spirit through art, creativity, identity, and transformation.

Looking back, I can see how curiosity, play, and questions about who we are and how we change began to take shape in this work. Those themes continue to guide me, both in the studio and in how I think about art’s role in my life.

“Serious play is the essence of creativity.”
        — Paula Scher · TED-2008

I appreciate how play and spirit come together in these early pieces. You can see other works from that period in the gallery section.

👇 Let me know what speaks to you.

— Bill

Walking Reflection — November 4

A digital collage blending red, gold, and pink autumn leaves with soft branches and floral forms. The composition feels like a playful romp with color, echoing the joy and energy of fall.
Autumn Layers — digital collage inspired by the color and rhythm of autumn.

Autumn Colors

This fall, on my walks, I’ve been amazed by the color — soaking it in, just appreciating the ability to gaze upon such beauty.

As beautiful as the colors of spring and summer are — spring with its bright yellow-greens and lupines in pinks and violets, and summer with its deeper greens and the bright yellows of marigolds or the reds of geraniums and pinks of coneflowers — not to mention the purples and blues of delphiniums — I love them too.

But autumn colors speak to me differently. There’s an excitement, a passion in them that touches my soul.

I often collect leaves and set them in my studio to inspire me — to try and equal the wonderful harmony of fall colors. This year, I decided to play as the Creator once did, and create an image — a playful collage of color, built from photographs taken along the way.

Bill Hendricks

Started with a Walk and a Photograph

Related: Minnesota DNR Fall Color Finder — a live map of color across the state and information about the 2025 season.

To Be Seen — Mixed Media Drawings 2025

From vision to form, from shadow to light — these works found their way into being.

Mixed Media Drawings — 2025 →

Bill Hendricks mixed media drawing 2025 — expressive watercolor and ink painting honoring the resilience and spirit of Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P, watercolor and ink on paper, 2025

“History isn’t something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities.” — Marsha P. Johnson

After four years of building a body of work, I’ve reached a turning point.
When I retired, I promised myself to return to the questions that began with my thesis — shadow, symbol, communication, reality, presence, and absence.

This painting marks that return. Its forms begin with light — and it is light’s rays that define an object’s appearance, translated by the eye that observes it.
Is this an image of circular tubes, or a visual echo of Marsha P. Johnson?
It moves between light and darkness, order and release — the space where renewal begins.

Sometimes celebration simply means knowing that the light is still here —
that something imagined has finally come into being.

Hope you explore this new gallery:
Mixed Media Drawings — 2025 →

Who is your favorite historical figure? At the Moment … John Cage

Cage says that somethings are always created out of nothing, the intangible, living void. They’re not a form of self-expression; instead they are a inner response. One starts with a structure that is empty and all possibilities are on the table. Wu-wei or effortless action, says that nothing should be forced.
                                      ~ https://www.kimmanleyort.com/

Something....That was Used a Nothing.... None is Something again.
Something…That was Used as Nothing… And Nothing becomes Something again.

 

How do I use Social Media?

Does the word how also ask the question why?

How do I use social media? The short answer is not well if I am serious about branding and marketing myself, but my primary purpose is to document my work and share with others what interests me.
As an artist, it is a great way to share my work, get feedback, and comment on others’ work.
I like to document my work on ArtChangesLives(Dot)Com on my blog. It is incredible how long I have been posting there. A few years ago, Blue Host took my site down, and I had to move it to WordPress.com. So, some of the pictures are still missing, but it is becoming whole again.
I have two pages called Art Changes Lives on Facebook and LinkedIn. On those two pages, I share my artwork and other artists’ work or shows. This posting will be found on those two sites and on Tumblr.
I tend to use my Facebook account for more personal postings, such as saying hi to friends or sending birthday wishes. I also post some about my art interests and personal connections, such as birthdays and other messages.

Nice to have an opportunity to share why and how I use social media.

Sharing Some Recent Work

Art is the expression of those beauties and emotions that stir the human soul. ~ Howard Pyle

A drawing that I call Life Map - 042023. Drawn with Sakura Pigma Micron pens. Abstract Surrealism
Life Map – 042023, Pen and Ink – 9″ x 6″