| I was not lucky enough to be born in the Texas Hill Country but I made up for it by marrying into the Fredericksburg area ranching world. It did not take me long to figure out that I loved it and wanted to paint everything I saw. When I paint, I feel like nothing else matters and I can just live in the color and line of the moment.
For decades, I could only make short visits to the Hill Country, so I understand the let-down feeling of having to leave and wanting to take a little piece of this beautiful area with you. Even now that I finally live here, life gets in the way of me getting out to enjoy all of the things that I love. So I illuminate my home with a rotating collection of my paintings of Hill Country treasures and I do the same thing for you: I paint the wildflowers, critters, landscapes and food of the Texas Hill Country in order to brighten homes near and far.
If you have been wondering about my signature, the Rocking O has been the Henke brand for more than 100 years. We don't use it on cattle anymore, so I 'brand' my paintings with it.
When I ask myself why I continue to make watercolor, ink, acrylic and digital painting a high daily priority, I recall that I am a deeply ingrained introvert... I suspect that God has been using the making, marketing and teaching of art to draw me out of my shell and into the kind of relationships where people can create together and talk about things that they really care about.
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