Author: Stephen T. Hanks

I’ve done another painting. This is my fifth new piece (see others in past postings listed at the right or by scrolling below) since this damn pandemic started and forced me to isolate in my studio. A silver lining, I guess, for me. This one was inspired while I was walking up Crosby Street just off of Broome St. in New York City. I was visiting my daughter Jessica two Christmases ago and I was struck by the contrast of the dirty staid buildings covered with colorful dynamic posters and graffiti. And then one lonely girl walked by, seemingly oblivious to it all. I thought it was an interesting story and took a photo that inspired the painting, 1.5 years later. Whatdaya think?

I am” trying” to take advantage of the all my free-time by painting and drawing to inspire my students to do the same. I hope I am succeeding and will look back at these times with satisfaction at my output. Further below, you can see three new watercolor paintings done over the past 2 months. But I also decided to try to motivate my students with a new drawing just below. It is inspired by a photo I took at a crafts fair in Fort Frederick, MD. I liked the effect of the reflective shiny objects (silver bowls and cups) and a checkered tablecloth they were displayed on. It’s a pencil drawing and took a really long time to do (as drawings require a lot of patience. Hope you like it.

It’s, I guess, no surprise that my isolation is inspiring me to paint more. Sure helps make the time pass easily. I hope the same is true for all of you. I did another painting of ladies walking in a city in the rain a few years ago and it turned out well. So I decided to try another. This time I tried to contrast the dreary colors of the day against the brighter colors of the fruit and vegetables in the market. I also am pleased with the cobbled texture and puddles of the street . This painting is called “Marcos Ortaggi”. I hope you like it.

As I write this on April 4, 2020, my three watercolor and drawing classes at the Holiday Park Senior Center that were scheduled to start this month, have been canceled due to the pandemic. Luckily, we almost finished the Winter classes in March with only the last week of classes canceled. I’ve been asked, if I was interested in teaching a Summer session (dates TBD) if HPSC reopens before then. I think I will do so. Once confirmed, I will let everyone (who may be interested) know here.

In the meantime, in hopes that it will inspire all of you to use your extra time at home do do some painting or drawings of your own, I’ve completed two new watercolor paintings shown below.

This is another one of my painting series of animals named after comedy teams. In this case, George & Gracie.

This painting is called Empire Books. Both paintings are on Yupo paper.

Select the “My Classes” button above to see the schedule of my new three classes starting in September 2019.

In my recent winter and spring 2019 classes (both watercolor and drawing), I taught taught them how to do tessellations. As they finished them, I published them under the “Student Work” button webpage (above) where you can select the specific search “tessellations” to see them, or go to (https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=51845796%40N06&view_all=1&text=tessellation). I encourage you to go there and see some of them.  They are wonderful !!

My recent painting below is a tessellation that I did  as the second demonstration for their project. It’s called called A Weyr of Dragons.

Select the “My Classes” button above to see the schedule of my new three classes starting soon (April 23-4).

In my winter classes that just ended (both watercolor and drawing), I’ve recently taught them how to do tessellations (see: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&ei=evWwXO-iDamq5wLYhbb4Ag&q=tessellation&oq=tessellation&gs_l=psy-ab.3..35i39j0i131i20i263j0i131l2j0i131i67j0i67j0l4.14601.14601..16240…0.0..0.119.119.0j1……0….1..gws-wiz…….0i71.MC3PKStEjBI ). As they finish them, I have published them under the “Student Work” button webpage (above) where you can select the specific search to see them (https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=51845796%40N06&view_all=1&text=tessellation). I encourage you to go there and see some of them.  They are wonderful !!

My newest painting is a tessellation that I did  as a demonstration for their project. I’m quite proud of it and it is my entry in the upcoming Baltimore Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition (opens June 8 at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown). It’s called Bale (group of turtles) Shiver (group of sharks) Army (group of frogs).  Below that is the drawing that preceded painting it.

Select the “My Classes” button above to see the schedule of my new three classes offered this winter of 2019.

In addition, the following are new drawings and paintings that I’ve done recently, all four created as demonstrations for my students at Holiday Park Senior Center where we will be doing studies on the human figure. The first two (just below) show the nude human figure, one male and the other female. Each are drawn from work done by Paul Cadmus  (male figure) and Jean Ingres (female) and show a graphite drawing of each figure, paired with a watercolor painting of the same figure. The male figure drawing uses the “crosshatching” technique for shading the highlights and shadows, and is matched with a finished watercolor.  The drawn female figure is shaded using a tortillion (a rolled paper blending stick; or as we affectionately call it, a “doobie”).  Its matching watercolor illustrates the first “glaze” applied of the skin tones and is only one quarter complete.

The next two are also demos done for my HPSC classes in December. The watercolor of the pumpkins and gourds was inspired by a photo of same in the Washington Post and a homework assignment given to my watercolor classes. The drawing is an assemblage of still-life components collected and drawn as a demo in the drawing class and illustrates how the components can be arranged to create a controlled and organized composition.

I just finished the painting below and show it publicly here for the first time.  It is a quadriptych, meaning it has four separate canvas panels, each 18″ x 24″.  So the entire picture is a little over 36″ x 48″.  It is the third in an abstract series of paintings that I have done over the past 2 years based on 3D forms.  The first was the “Blue Cylinders” painting shown further below in an earlier posting (one of the paintings I did for my daughter).  The quadriptych immediately below is the most recent and is called “Floating Cones“.  Just below it is the second in the series called “Building Pyramids” done earlier this year.  Enjoy!

Select the “My Classes” button above to see the schedule of my new classes offered this Fall beginning in September.

In addition, the following are four new paintings that I’ve done so far this year (2018). The first (just below left) is my successful entry in the annual Baltimore Watercolor Society (BWS) show at the Black Rock Gallery in Germantown, MD (show running thru 7/15).  These four paintings are all demos that I did for my art students at the Holiday Park Senior Center.  Each is made up of multiple self-portrait linoleum-cut prints (each print is 8″ x 10″) grouped and glued together and then integrated into a whole painting using acrylic paint. Colorful and whimsical aren’t they? And very atypical of the normal watercolors in a BWS show.

Select the “My Classes” button above to see the schedule of my new classes offered this Spring beginning in April.