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Bradley Hendershot is primarily
a painter of coastal Maine and rural Pennsylvania--regions
that he knows well, regions tha t
have special meaning to him. Many of Brad's subjects can
be found close to his home and studio in Upper Hanover Township
in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. "My Pennsylvania
paintings depict the rural community and a way of life that
is quickly fading into the past. Many of the timber and
stone barns and mills, the houses and outbuildings, which
are part of the Pennsylvania heritage, are rapidly disappearing.
I'd like to feel, in a way, that I have preserved them in
my paintings."
"In Maine, I paint the rugged shoreline
of the mid-coast region and Monhegan Island where I enjoy
the smell of salt air and the feeling of sea spray. I've
always loved the sea, probably a combination of things--the
boats, the energy of the surf, the rocks, the storms, and
the romance of it all. I hope this comes across in my paintings
of the weathered clapboard lobster shanties and the granite
towers of the lighthouses."
Brad has been drawing and painting most of
his life. "My early inspiration and guidance came from
my father, artist Ray Hendershot.".
Using a representational approach in his
painting, most of Brad's work has been in the water-media.
"I find watercolor to be very challenging and rewarding,
and I like the spontaneity and freshness of the medium."
If Brad gets particularly involved with the form and texture
of a subject, he takes watercolor one step further, employing
a drybrush technique. Using drybrush, textures and details
are built up by applying small strokes of the brush and
very little water with the pigment. The drybrush work is
built upon an initial watercolor wash that is usually quite
fluid. The color, in spots, may be very dense and opaque,
emphasizing the transparency of other areas. Most often,
a combination of both wetbrush and drybrush techniques can
be found in a single work. "I don't stick to the traditional
watercolor rules in my painting. I use a variety of techniques,
doing what I feel is necessary to obtain the result I want
in the finished work." Brad begins each new concept
by doing preliminary sketches of the subject. These studies
may be done in pencil, pen and ink, or watercolor.
Brad paints with an intense devotion to realistic
detail while at the same time artistic license is employed
for the sake of composition and to evoke a certain feeling
or mood in the viewer. Using his creativity in the overall
planning of a work, Brad emphasizes the features and details
that best capture and produce the desired effect or emotion.
Brad feels that each new work presents an opportunity to
develop and refine his techniques. Thus, Brad will continue
to grow for as long as he continues to paint.
Bradley is currently represented in Pennsylvania by Travis
Gallery near New Hope, by Chadds Ford Gallery in Chadds
Ford, by Dutchland Galleries in Intercourse, and by Umbehauer's
Main Street Gallery in Pennsburg. He is represented in Maine
by Bayview Galleries in Camden and Brunswick, and by Lupine
Gallery on Monhegan Island. He is represented in Delaware
by Hardcastle Gallery in Centreville. Bradley is a signature member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society (PWS), a signature
artist member of the American Society of Marine Artists
(ASMA), a signature professional artist of the International
Society of Marine Painters (ISMP), and a signature member
of the Philadelphia Water Color Society (PWCS). His works
appear in public and private collections nationwide, including
the collections of MBNA, Bank of Delaware, Delaware Trust,
and the University of Delaware. Bradley's paintings have
been issued as open-edition reproductions by Bruce McGaw
Graphics, Inc., of New York, and as self-published limited-
and open-edition reproductions.
AVAILABLE PAINTINGS
/ BIOGRAPHY
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