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Jack
Henslee's art has taken him from coast to coast and many
a town in-between, but truth be told, he was born and
bred a Texan. In fact, except for a ten-year sojourn
amid the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, Fort Worth and
its Lone Star ladies have always inveigled him home.
Of course it wasn't always sultry seductresses and
coquettish country girls.
Jack's romance with art began the first time he was able
to hold a pencil. His boyhood was spent admiring
professional illustrators like Bob Peak, and as a young
artist, Jack found himself inspired and impressed by the
painstaking truth of realism and traditional
disciplines. Largely self-taught, and possessed of a
rare gift for detail and drive, Jack's early creative
endeavors concentrated upon wildlife studies and Native
American subjects. As is often the case with aspiring
young artists, however, practical distractions
developed. The wildlife and Native American art sparked
affection within himself, but no true passion.
It was time for a change. In college, Jack had turned
his studies toward architecture, convinced by his peers
and loved ones that it was impossible to develop a
stable income as an artist. Visions of Frank Lloyd
Wright aside, Jack's professional focus gradually
shifted toward the more reliable and
creatively-challenging trade of illustration and graphic
design.
After establishing himself and honing his craft for two
decades in Texas, Jack was lured by the sultry perfume
of desert breezes. His creative talents were placed on
loan to the posh resorts and swank casinos of Las Vegas
where he spent the next ten years as one of the
industry's most prolific and sought-after artisans. He
reigned at the top of an exclusive and extremely
competitive short list of graphic designers, garnering
countless Addy Awards for his clients, and acclaim for
his firms.
Personal creativity grew increasingly weary of reading
aloud from someone else's script, alas, and Jack became
disenchanted by the exhaustive pace and repetitive
nature of his adopted trade. It was while toiling amid
Hilton billboards and Caesar's Palace tournament banners
that Jack's soul demanded that it was time to apply his
talents to a path of his own desires; it was time to
devote himself to what he affectionately refers to as
his "pretty ladies."
And, in those pretty ladies he has, at last, embraced
his true passion.
Here, in his Painted Lady Gallery, Jack invites you to
share that passion; to find a favorite amid the grace
and splendor of his ladies and leave, perhaps a little
more enchanted than you entered. |
