Traditional oil painter, Anthony Henjel, follows in footsteps of Vermeer.Traditional oil painter, Anthony Henjel, was born in Tuzla, Yugoslavia, as stormclouds were beginning to form over Europe before the Second World War.
After escaping from the politically restrictive regime that then existed in Yugoslavia, he sought asylum in Italy before migrating to Australia in 1956. Here he continued his sign-writing occupation as well as fine art painting, parallel interests which have been with him all his life. 
Tony is interested in a wide variety of subjects and mediums, from scenes of boats moored in the inlet at Port Douglas, where he has lived for the past twenty years, to portraits of his friends. It is the latter in which he seems to me to be most at home, bringing a sense of the character of the person into his interpretation of them. 
This new, larger-than-life sized painting, below, is of a "mystery woman". Who is she? Tony isn't telling but she looks rather mischievous to me as she pokes her finger in his palette and drips red paint on his shoe! 
On the right is Tony's copy of Johannes Vermeer's 'Artist's Studio' which features himself at work. This was the inspiration for Tony's original, mischievous painting on the left.
Traditionally, European art students would learn from a master by copying his work and this is a practice that Tony has continued. Below is another of his copies, this time by Francois Millet, the French Impressionist, whose work Tony has long admired.
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