I live in Cornwall, the far south-westerly tip of the U.K..

An adopted Cornishman, I grew up mostly in Yorkshire and was educated there and at Newcastle-upon-Tyne University (BA Hons. Fine Art 1971). Two years in Italy, initially on a Bunzl Scholarship were followed by seven living in Bath, training as a teacher in Bristol and starting out teaching art in London.

Moving to Cornwall in 1980 I worked as head of art at Mounts Bay School until the opportunity to relaunch my painting career came in 1999.

Able to take up painting again I found that, in West Cornwall, I was living in exactly the right place to do so as it's an area whose landscape and culture are second to none in the UK. Here the landscape, culture and over-arching quality of maritime light have enabled me to bring together a sense of design, confirmed for me by two formative years spent in Italy, with a sensuous enjoyment of colour stemming from a childhood spent partly in the tropics.  

I held exhibiitions in Florence, Newcastle, Bath, Bristol, Plymouth and Penzance from 1972 to 1984

Recent exhibitions include: Mariner's Gallery St Ives - July 2001 - A Peninsula Suite Mariner's Gallery St Ives - October 2003 - Valleys and Horizons Mariner's Gallery St Ives - April 2006 - Shaping a Vision of Cornwall part 1 Bodmin Shire Hall - May 2006 - Shaping a Vision of Cornwall part 2 Spring and Steele Galleries, Falmouth Arts Centre. - October 2008 – In the Ocean Light

Hobbies include: Invigorating walks with my lively border collie "Rags."

Interests: I've been a practicing (SGI) Buddhist since 1983.

The studio that I share with fellow artist Gabrielle Hawkes in St Just-in-Penwith is open to the public - details on my website ( www.hendersonsmith.co.uk ).