" IN THE STUDIO "
Steve Hanks

Open Edition Print 12" x 18" $95
100 s/n Limited Canvas 17" x 26" $395

 

At its essence, Steve’s art is about the beauty in life: the innocent loveliness of infants and children,
the bond between mother and baby, the physical beauty of the female form in light and shadow,
in stillness and in dance. The composition of a Hanks painting serves the emotion he sets out
to paint, whether it be a vertical or horizontal canvas, the mystery in a woman facing downward,
or how the upward tilt of a chin exudes confidence, the freedom of a girl’s spiraling limbs on
a beach, or a young woman’s steady gaze at the wide horizon ahead of her.

Hanks was a figurative painter and for the most part the landscapes and room interiors were
used for context not substance, although he included quilts and rug and floor patterns for
depth and texture. The deeper the emotional landscape of his subject that he wanted to express,
the vaguer the location. The complete expression of the figure was his way of saying, “This is
where you are in the world.” 

That said, Aspen, Colorado was an often-painted family vacation favorite, as well as New
Orleans and Charleston, whose wrought iron and architecture and heavy green vegetation
appealed to the artist whose home studio was in high desert. Steve Hanks lived most of
his life in landlocked Albuquerque but his heart was near water. Contemplative figures
were sometimes painted near shimmering lakes and rivers but the Pacific Ocean is
where both pure joy and the complications of relationships played out in his art.

In the fall of 2014, Hanks painted a rare self-portrait in his studio. It is uncharacteristically
layered and complicated, befitting its subject. In the painting, there are reflections of reflections
and he includes the tools of his trade and the studio artifacts that surround him. The life
model, perched on the artist’s chair, studies her portrait on the easel. The tumbling quilt
and her leg convey the tall verticality of the painting, yet the horizontal portrait and the
framed art on the wall keep the eye focused on the center of the painting. The artist has stepped
away from the easel and is framed in the circular mirror. What is he studying?
The model,
the painting, the life? In the mirror, above his head to the right, is the leading edge of
a surfboardand below that, another mirror and within that, the reflection of the artist in the
circular mirror and so on.

Steve Hanks’ In the Artist’s Studio is something special for his collectors and fans. Far more
than a sneak peek into his workspace, it is a gem of a multi-layered autobiography.  (The
framed art on the studio wall is mostly his own. The checkerboard floor is Berkeley Kitchen,
an acrylic from 1973. Did Steve find the image of John William Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott
 inspirational, or was there a personal connection he found to the character in the
Tennyson’s poem that inspired the painting? A quick look into the story might reveal a whole
other level in Hanks’ portrait to you. 

If you are a fan of Steve Hanks, this work of art is something special to remember him by.
More importantly, you can help the family offset the medical bills from his cancer treatment
by purchasing either the paper or canvas version of The Artist’s Studio