According to the Dictionary of Utah Fine Artists, after receiving his BFA degree from BYU and working as the senior exhibit designer at the Museum of Church History and Art, “Henrichsen began his own pursuit of plein air painting under Earl Jones in the 1980s. His main focus is on painting variations of Utah red rock and alpine mountain landscapes. His work could be described as a combination of stylized impressionism and romanticized realism.”

Kirk Henrichsen was exposed to art as a child watching his grandfather in his painting studio and grew up dreaming of following in his footsteps. He spends several weeks every summer at his family cabin at Fish Lake and paints in Wayne County regularly. He shows painting in Fish Lake Lodge and twice a year leads multi-day painting workshops at the Utah Vally University Capitol Reef Field Station.

Kirk says, “The process of painting quickly, out-of-doors, requires me to focus my full attention on the subject as I attempt to capture the fleeting effects of light. This close observation of nature is a somewhat meditative process that brings me great personal satisfaction. My search for a pleasing composition and harmonious color combinations is not a precise duplication of a scene but the simplification of innumerable visual elements. Plein air painting is my passion.

KIRK HENRICHSEN