Stephen Henning was an award-winning graphic designer and creative director for over 15 years before taking up the brush on a full-time basis. Since the early 1990’s he has developed a distinctive style of American impressionism, and a loyal following of collectors who share his love of nature and the outdoors; his original paintings hang in private, corporate and public collections across North America. Mentored since childhood by Ernest Oberholtzer (co-founder of  The Wilderness Society), Henning strives to paint the landscape in its untamed state. “I am essentially an introvert. I enjoy people, but part of me is always hungry for wide, open spaces and the beauty of nature; painting is my means of escape.”

      Known for his large scale canvases of midwestern landscapes and nature images including native florals such as the waterlilies commonly found on Minnesota lakes, Henning also enjoys creating superscale original still life paintings in an impressionistic style. Often beginning his paintings outdoors, working en plein aire as the impressionists were known to do, he will typically finish the large canvases in the studio. A relative newcomer to the print market, Henning plans to introduce several new impressionist images in the next year.

      Henning serves as artist-in-residence in rural schools up to five weeks each year, and has taught outdoor painting workshops for many arts organizations throughout the midwest. A strong advocate for the arts, he is a director on the boards for the Evansville Arts Coalition, Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts and COMPAS, a non-profit arts organization serving communities throughout Minnesota.

      Henning’s honors and recognitions include: 1999 Arts Leadership Award from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Featured Artist - 1998 Minnesota Porcelain Artists Teacher’s Guild Expo, 1997 Minnesota Percent for Art Purchase Award and 1996 People’s Choice Award at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center Invitational Exhibit.

      The grandson of South Dakota “sodbusters,” Henning was born in Minot, North Dakota, and raised in Anoka, Minnesota. He resides near Inspiration Peak, Minnesota’s second highest promontory, and shares studio space with fellow artist and wife, Jacqueline, and their children.