I’m a fine artist with seasalt in my veins…
Hello there! Thanks for dropping by. My name is Emma Henke and I’m a British fine artist, sailing the world on a classic sailing yacht and capturing the light on the water in paint. I work mostly in oils and occasionally in other media.
My paintings conjure the sea spray and the light of the ocean into your home, wherever you live. Close your eyes and smell the sea.
Open them and there you are…
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Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy looking around!
All work © Emma Henke. All rights reserved.
A Very British Summer
The south coast of the UK, captured in all of its sparkling glory in 2021. New beginnings as we all emerge from our cocoons…
Dutchscapes
A long, cold winter of Dutch lockdown - and yet you still find some sunshine.
A little series of Dutch waterscapes in warm colours despite the freezing winter. This is the first series that I painted on board - it’s a very special set of paintings.
Maiden Light
A collection of recollections, of sunrises after difficult, dark nights. I reached out to other sailors for their stories too, including the record-breaking and inspirational Tracy Edwards MBE. They all responded and their stories are woven into this collection.
75% of the proceeds will go to the Maiden Factor foundation, supporting young women and girls in education.
Water Dreaming
I have been painting my dreams. Sometimes dreams of being out of control; sometimes fascinating, technicolour, glorious rushes of green and gold and blue and lushness.
These little works are like dreamcatchers - and they are ready to catch your nightmares and leave you only with sweet and peaceful dreams of another time and place where there is no more fear or anxiety.
Where do you go in your dreams?
Postcards from the Tropics
In 2016, I set sail from Europe, crossed the Atlantic, fell in love, and took off on a sailing adventure in a classic yacht all the way across the Pacific, all the way to Indonesia.
In 2019, I painted my adventures onto canvas. Come, sit with me. Let me tell you some stories…
British Salt
Until September 2020, I lived in Margate, Kent (UK), right next to the beach. JMW Turner made the skies here famous and it’s not difficult to see why. I walked this coastline every day of the year and painted it almost as often.
With painting in oils and acrylics, this collection comprises works in salty shades of the sea. The air here is keener, brisker, saltier than the tropics. It’s a very British beauty, this coastline.
About Emma Henke
I always wanted to live by the sea or on the water,
and now I do.
I have always painted, as long as I can remember.
Finally, I’ve found a way to do both and I really want to share my passions and my joy with you.
My paintbrush brings the magic of the ocean to the canvas, and later to your home. Can you taste the sea salt?
“Sea Fever
By John Masefield
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.”
