RIVERWIND GALLERY PRESENTS ART FROM THE BEST!
Steve Hanks
All art is an escape to somewhere you want to be or a feeling you want to have
Biography
Moving On: The Art of Steve Hanks
TRADEBOOK
Image size:
11"w x 14"h.
Image size:
11"w x 14"h.
$
85.00
Winner Silver, Best Coffee Table Art Book 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards
Meet the artist and see sample pages from the book
Steve Hanks is first and foremost a figure painter. His watercolor paintings are infused with emotion and a kind of poetry formed by light and shadow in his compositions. He often paints what he refers to as "moments of introspective solitude," with deep respect for the privacy of the individual lost in reflection. Each painting holds a mystery that is also a personal story about the artist as he expresses his own emotional unfolding through art.
Just as writers are urged to "write what you know," Steve Hanks paints what he lives. When his children were born his work was filled the profound intimacy between infants and parents, the unexpected joy of toddlers, and the wonder of youngsters finding their way in the outside world.
Throughout his body of work, the study of the figure is primary and no where is this more in evidence than in Hanks' nudes. Forms are defined by light slanting through windows and sunlight through fabric or the drape of a sheet. Through Steve's mastery of composition, shadow and light, his figures emerge from the paper fully formed, unique, and mysterious.
The emotional impact of these detailed and highly realistic paintings is undeniable. Whatever the subject--children, families, women, nudes, landscape, moving water, or textile patterns--the paintings are also about light and shadow, and reflect a personal challenge, pain, or joy of the artist.
The paintings in this volume represent the most extensive collection of the artist's work in over ten years. Some time after his divorce in the 1990s, Steve began a series of paintings about healing. The paintings in this series are both deeply personal in their symbolism of the artist's own life and universal in their emotion and experience. "I want my whole body of work to tell a story when I'm gone," says Steve. "It will tell the story of my life emotionally."
Steve Hanks is the premiere artist working in the technically-demanding field of realistic watercolor figure painting today. His astonishing realism comes from a skillful control of washes, edges and layers, and his knowledge of the properties of water and pigment. "Now I understand how to gain control by letting go," says the artist. "I just want to be part of the ride."
Meet the artist and see sample pages from the book
Steve Hanks is first and foremost a figure painter. His watercolor paintings are infused with emotion and a kind of poetry formed by light and shadow in his compositions. He often paints what he refers to as "moments of introspective solitude," with deep respect for the privacy of the individual lost in reflection. Each painting holds a mystery that is also a personal story about the artist as he expresses his own emotional unfolding through art.
Just as writers are urged to "write what you know," Steve Hanks paints what he lives. When his children were born his work was filled the profound intimacy between infants and parents, the unexpected joy of toddlers, and the wonder of youngsters finding their way in the outside world.
Throughout his body of work, the study of the figure is primary and no where is this more in evidence than in Hanks' nudes. Forms are defined by light slanting through windows and sunlight through fabric or the drape of a sheet. Through Steve's mastery of composition, shadow and light, his figures emerge from the paper fully formed, unique, and mysterious.
The emotional impact of these detailed and highly realistic paintings is undeniable. Whatever the subject--children, families, women, nudes, landscape, moving water, or textile patterns--the paintings are also about light and shadow, and reflect a personal challenge, pain, or joy of the artist.
The paintings in this volume represent the most extensive collection of the artist's work in over ten years. Some time after his divorce in the 1990s, Steve began a series of paintings about healing. The paintings in this series are both deeply personal in their symbolism of the artist's own life and universal in their emotion and experience. "I want my whole body of work to tell a story when I'm gone," says Steve. "It will tell the story of my life emotionally."
Steve Hanks is the premiere artist working in the technically-demanding field of realistic watercolor figure painting today. His astonishing realism comes from a skillful control of washes, edges and layers, and his knowledge of the properties of water and pigment. "Now I understand how to gain control by letting go," says the artist. "I just want to be part of the ride."
A New Beginning
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
14"w x 27 1/2"h.
Edition Size:550
Image size:
14"w x 27 1/2"h.
Edition Size:550
$
175.00
A New Beginning
MASTERWORK CANVAS EDITION
Image size:
20"w x 40"h.
Edition Size:100
Image size:
20"w x 40"h.
Edition Size:100
$
850.00
“Any healing process can be a lengthy one,” says Steve Hanks. “Often it can be helped by attempting to visualize the future. Such is the inspiration for A New Beginning. This is, in fact, the final painting in a series of three that have used the ascent of the staircase to track this woman’s passage. By reaching the landing at the top, she has completed her growing process and is ready to move on. This staircase reminds us to take things in life one step at a time, that a promise of reward and satisfaction—the top of the staircase—and a new view of the world around you, is a situation you can help create for yourself.” “In my paintings, when there’s a sidewalk or shoreline going off into the distance, I sometimes use this area to represent people in the subject’s mind. You may notice that in A New Beginning that there are no people down the sidewalk, and that the background is left blank; the woman has visualized an open road in her future. Additionally, I used a different model for this painting than I did in the first two, to further illustrate the metamorphosis: you are not the same person at the top of the staircase that you were at the bottom.”
Boundless
Greenwich
Workshop Fine Art Giclée Paper
18" w x 24 1/2" h.
Edition size: 75 s/n.
18" w x 24 1/2" h.
Edition size: 75 s/n.
$
495.00
Catching the Rain
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
11"w x 12"h.
Edition Size:250
Image size:
11"w x 12"h.
Edition Size:250
$
125.00
Children on La Jolla Shores
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
31"w x 10"h.
Edition Size:75
Image size:
31"w x 10"h.
Edition Size:75
$
550.00
As we grow older our perspective broadens and nowhere is this more obvious than with children. And, as is so often the case with a painting by Steve Hanks, the beauty and seeming simplicity of the work gives no hint of the complexity beneath. Each child interacts with the beach as they do the world. The youngest boy in the back is focused on his older sister. She in turn is picking up a shell, something in her immediate vicinity.
The third, grasping some seaweed makes the connection between it and the ocean from which it came. The oldest stares down the beach toward a group of surfers, the opening of the next phase of life beyond the immediate family.
The third, grasping some seaweed makes the connection between it and the ocean from which it came. The oldest stares down the beach toward a group of surfers, the opening of the next phase of life beyond the immediate family.
Count Your Blessings
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
14"w x 21"h.
Edition Size:4500
Image size:
14"w x 21"h.
Edition Size:4500
$
100.00
Country Girls
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
16"w x 11"h.
Edition Size:250
Image size:
16"w x 11"h.
Edition Size:250
$
250.00
“Country Girls is simply about enjoying the times when your children are small,” says Steve Hanks. Sometimes his pieces convey layers of meaning, this piece, however, in a smaller scale than Hanks usually paints, conveys the beauty of two tow-headed girls enjoying a moment outdoors in the country. In what could be Anytown, USA, Hanks captures an innocent time of pretending and the simple joys of childhood.
From a Higher Level
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
24"w x 15 1/2"h.
Edition Size:550
Image size:
24"w x 15 1/2"h.
Edition Size:550
$
175.00
From a Higher Level
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
31"w x 20"h.
Edition Size:100
Image size:
31"w x 20"h.
Edition Size:100
$
695.00
The art of Steve Hanks is rich with symbolism and metaphor. His titles are a key to understanding the deeper message waiting to be discovered in each painting, and, often have more than one meaning. “From a Higher Level is, on one hand a relationship piece, and on the other, about the necessity of getting above the messiness of life’s daily grind. Simple but conscious acts can lift us out of the toil and finally place us on a higher ground,” Hanks says. “The piece is also about communication, and how the rider and horse converse without necessarily using words. The rider and horse can also represent the relationship between art and the ability of art to communicate beyond words—From a Higher Level.”
Hold Onto the Gate
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
16"w x 11"h.
Edition Size:150
Image size:
16"w x 11"h.
Edition Size:150
$
250.00
"I love to revist the times when my kids were young and innocent and liked to play make-believe," says artist Steve Hanks. This little angel is probably too young to be outside the gate by herself so she's going to hold on tightly, with both hands." Hold Onto the Gate is a darling portrait of a child's first glimpse of life outside the family. The elaborate wrought iron gate makes a dramatic backdrop to the fragility of the little ballerina standing before it. She won't be like this for long.
In Her Dreams
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
6"w x 10"h.
Edition Size:1250
Image size:
6"w x 10"h.
Edition Size:1250
$
50.00
In Her Thoughts
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
7"w x 10"h.
Edition Size:1250
Image size:
7"w x 10"h.
Edition Size:1250
$
50.00
In the Warm Savannah Sun
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
16 1/4"w x 25"h.
Edition Size:100
Image size:
16 1/4"w x 25"h.
Edition Size:100
$
395.00
“I didn’t grow up in the South,” says artist Steve Hanks, “but I love the feel of it, especially Savannah, Charleston and New Orleans. These places fit the emotions I use in my art. The young woman in this painting is lost in a moment of reflection but her posture is relaxed anticipation. She’s ready for what’s coming her way.”
In the Warm Savannah Sun captures the most compelling qualities of Steve Hanks’ artwork. The single feminine figure, defined by sunlight and shadow, caught up in private emotions but placed in a specific physical location. We can feel the warm sunlight on her shoulders and the cool stone tile underfoot. The ubiquitous wrought iron fences of Savannah are here, as well as its beloved live oak trees with Spanish moss in the background.
Bring a beautiful slice of Savannah into your home with this fine art giclée on watercolor paper that is nearly indistinguishable from Steve Hanks’ original painting.
In the Warm Savannah Sun captures the most compelling qualities of Steve Hanks’ artwork. The single feminine figure, defined by sunlight and shadow, caught up in private emotions but placed in a specific physical location. We can feel the warm sunlight on her shoulders and the cool stone tile underfoot. The ubiquitous wrought iron fences of Savannah are here, as well as its beloved live oak trees with Spanish moss in the background.
Bring a beautiful slice of Savannah into your home with this fine art giclée on watercolor paper that is nearly indistinguishable from Steve Hanks’ original painting.
It´s All Downhill From Here
SMALLWORK CANVAS EDITION
Image size:
15"w x 5"h.
Edition Size:100
Image size:
15"w x 5"h.
Edition Size:100
$
195.00
Listening to the River
LIMITED EDITION Giclée PRINT
Image size:
28"w x 18"h.
Edition Size:350
Image size:
28"w x 18"h.
Edition Size:350
$
495.00
"I often paint women near the water," says artist Steve Hanks, "and each body of water has a different meaning, a different feeling." A painting of a woman in the ocean, for example, offers perspective and the sense that "your problems are no larger than a grain of sand." The subject of a lakeside portrait may be seeking solace and a sense of security. A river painting, however, is different. "A river is heading somewhere, it's got direction, "says Steve. "Listening to the River is about listening to the world you're in and waiting for its guidance. The woman is thinking about where she's headed." Steve Hanks' highly realistic watercolors reveal emotion through composition, color and lighting. His lyrical sensibility and unparalleled technical skill with watercolors have made him one of the most sought-after artists painting today.
Matters of the Heart
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
30"w x 17 1/4"h.
Edition Size:300
Image size:
30"w x 17 1/4"h.
Edition Size:300
$
600.00
My Little Angel
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
10"w x 11"h.
Edition Size:300
Image size:
10"w x 11"h.
Edition Size:300
$
195.00
“It is rare that I paint a piece with no background. Since there is no competition with the image, the angel, my daughter, appears to be floating within the white of the paper,” says Hanks of his fine art limited edition My Little Angel. “The piece is about treasuring times when your kids are still young and innocent and like to dabble in make-believe.The colors are soft and subtle and create a feeling that the angel is gliding. A lovely way to revisit the charms of childhood.”
Nature´s Touch
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
26"w x 13 3/8"h.
Edition Size:550
Image size:
26"w x 13 3/8"h.
Edition Size:550
$
175.00
Nature´s Touch
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
29"w x 15"h.
Edition Size:100
Image size:
29"w x 15"h.
Edition Size:100
$
550.00
The mystery of what lies below the surface is one of water’s most fascinating attractions.The same can be said of the paintings of Steve Hanks, where water and its presence have a nomenclature all their own. “Oceans are vast and we are small in comparison,” says Hanks. “When a painting occurs at seaside, often the subjects are contemplating significant passages in their lives. Rivers are on the move and going somewhere, as are the figures in these paintings. Lakes are most often environments of calm water and safety. Harmony is often the overriding theme.
Bathed in the glow of a warm sun, the woman in this painting is connecting with nature and the uncomplicated joy of life. Poised and confident she dips her foot beneath the surface, an overture to exploring the unknown.”
Bathed in the glow of a warm sun, the woman in this painting is connecting with nature and the uncomplicated joy of life. Poised and confident she dips her foot beneath the surface, an overture to exploring the unknown.”
New Shoreline
LIMITED EDITION Giclée PRINT
Image size:
18"w x 28"h.
Edition Size:300
Image size:
18"w x 28"h.
Edition Size:300
$
450.00
A woman stands in the shallow water, lost in contemplation. As the cool waves wash gently over her feet, she feels the warmth of the sun on her back and shoulders and is thankful for her surroundings, for the blessings in her life and for new beginnings. New Shoreline, like all of Steve Hanks' work, is rich with layers of symbolism and meaning. His titles are often the key to understanding the deeper message waiting to be discovered in each painting, and they often have more than one meaning. This young woman stands on a new shoreline that is unfamiliar and yet it opens a new world of opportunities. Waves wash away the superficial layers of her past as she prepares herself for the many challenges and possibilities the future offers. She stands ready on the New Shoreline.
On the Warm Side of Winter
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
16"w x 27"h.
Edition Size:1650
Image size:
16"w x 27"h.
Edition Size:1650
$
150.00
Raising Daughters
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
36"w x 14"h.
Edition Size:100
Image size:
36"w x 14"h.
Edition Size:100
$
695.00
“As this family enjoys a walk along the beach in Del Mar, California,” says artist Steve Hanks,“a discussion with the younger daughter takes the full attention of her parents. This gives her older sister a chance to pursue her interests. “I’ve heard it said that when you raise a boy you only have one boy to worry about, but when you raise a daughter you have all of them to worry about. To illustrate this in Raising Daughters, the two girls and their mothers are the only females on the beach. I carried the story further by making the older daughter and the boy she is admiring into a couple in the far distant background, walking away.”
Reflecting on Indian Beach
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
30"w x 20"h.
Edition Size:75
Image size:
30"w x 20"h.
Edition Size:75
$
550.00
With Reflecting on Indian Beach Steve Hanks shows just why he is regarded as the best watercolor artist painting in America today. It is a definitive combination of beauty, emotion and environment. “There is a big difference between the beaches of the Northern Pacific Coast and those down in Southern California,” says Hanks. “The surf rolls in over long shallow flats. The waves pound and boil for great distances, creating in the air thick moisture. This subtly diffuses the light creating an atmosphere palatably different than that on the beaches farther south.”
What began in his mind as a relatively straight-forward painting took Hanks over a month to create. He became absorbed in building the large reflective areas of the tidal flats. It seems as if we can reach in ourselves and run our fingers through the cool, moist sand at this serene and magical place where tree-lined mountains slip beneath the surface of the sea.
What began in his mind as a relatively straight-forward painting took Hanks over a month to create. He became absorbed in building the large reflective areas of the tidal flats. It seems as if we can reach in ourselves and run our fingers through the cool, moist sand at this serene and magical place where tree-lined mountains slip beneath the surface of the sea.
Savoring the Sun
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
18"w x 26"h.
Edition Size:1250
Image size:
18"w x 26"h.
Edition Size:1250
$
165.00
Scenic View
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
18 1/2"w x 25 1/4"h.
Edition Size:75
Image size:
18 1/2"w x 25 1/4"h.
Edition Size:75
$
495.00
She’s at the edge of a low wall with no clear path ahead but her eyes are drawn to the sweep of white foam from the crashing waves in the cove below. From there her dreams can soar. The turn of her head contributes to the painting’s expression of solitude and yet we share her view. Everything about this woman says “confidence” and the beautiful composition of physical and geographic curves presents an elegant portrait for any room in the house. Scenic View is published as a giclée on paper, virtually identical to the watercolor of the original painting.
Sheer Grace
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
25 3/4"w x 17"h.
Edition Size:1250
Image size:
25 3/4"w x 17"h.
Edition Size:1250
$
160.00
Shelter for the Heart
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
18"w x 27"h.
Edition Size:1500
Image size:
18"w x 27"h.
Edition Size:1500
$
165.00
Taking their Time
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
12 1/4"w x 18 3/4"h.
Edition Size:600
Image size:
12 1/4"w x 18 3/4"h.
Edition Size:600
$
170.00
The Gift is in Her Presence
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
15"w x 22"h.
Edition Size:1500
Image size:
15"w x 22"h.
Edition Size:1500
$
100.00
The Road Less Traveled
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
24"w x 16 1/4"h.
Edition Size:150
Image size:
24"w x 16 1/4"h.
Edition Size:150
$
325.00
The Road Less Traveled
MASTERWORK CANVAS EDITION
Image size:
37"w x 25"h.
Edition Size:50
Image size:
37"w x 25"h.
Edition Size:50
$
850.00
“I find those straight, long roads that transverse the barrenness of nowhere so intriguing. Who lives out there, what do they do? Imagine having grown up in one of those small Midwestern towns and what it is like to decide it is time to leave that small-town life behind?” asks Steve Hanks. “I think we all want to believe we would take the road less traveled, but are we prepared for the inclement weather or the time that may pass before opportunity offers us a ride? Certainly, this girl radiates inner confidence and everything about her, right down to her off-beat clothes, represents one who would choose to take the road less traveled.”
One of the unique qualities of this work is that that the original was a watercolor painted on Clayboard®. The paints sit on top of the Clayboard® surface rather than being absorbed into it as it does with traditional watercolor paper. The sharper color this creates comes alive all the more when varnished, a technique watercolorists don’t have the chance to employ.
One of the unique qualities of this work is that that the original was a watercolor painted on Clayboard®. The paints sit on top of the Clayboard® surface rather than being absorbed into it as it does with traditional watercolor paper. The sharper color this creates comes alive all the more when varnished, a technique watercolorists don’t have the chance to employ.
The Sound of Tiny Fingers
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
11"w x 8"h.
Edition Size:200
Image size:
11"w x 8"h.
Edition Size:200
$
95.00
Thinking It Over
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
8"w x 12"h.
Edition Size:195
Image size:
8"w x 12"h.
Edition Size:195
$
200.00
To Search Within
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
28"w x 16"h.
Edition Size:1650
Image size:
28"w x 16"h.
Edition Size:1650
$
165.00
Waiting in the Rain
LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
Image size:
17"w x 26"h.
Edition Size:75
Image size:
17"w x 26"h.
Edition Size:75
$
595.00
Waiting in the Rain
MASTERWORK CANVAS EDITION
Image size:
26"w x 40"h.
Edition Size:25
Image size:
26"w x 40"h.
Edition Size:25
$
1,250.00
After a period of personal loss, Steve Hanks began a series of paintings visualizing his healing process. This inspiring series, which can be found in its entirety in the new book Moving On: The Art of Steve Hanks, follows the artist’s emotional journey from despair to hope. Waiting in the Rain is one of the last paintings in the healing series. “At this point I had come out of my sadness. I began to think about the future. I thought about the kind of person I would want to come into my life,” says Hanks. “Waiting in the Rain is the visualization of that person, someone supportive and faithful. We would all like to have someone there waiting for us when return from a trip.”
Waiting on Halloween
OPEN EDITION PRINT
Image size:
12"w x 18"h
Image size:
12"w x 18"h
$
50.00
Water Lilies in Bloom
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
16"w x 32"h.
Edition Size:750
Image size:
16"w x 32"h.
Edition Size:750
$
195.00
We are Bound Together
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
28"w x 13"h.
Edition Size:1650
Image size:
28"w x 13"h.
Edition Size:1650
$
150.00
When Her Blue Eyes Close
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Image size:
14"w x 21"h.
Edition Size:999
Image size:
14"w x 21"h.
Edition Size:999
$
100.00