Steve Hanks

Steve Hanks believed art came from a deep inner sense of direction, serving as a vehicle for portraying the emotions that arise from raising a family while always evoking positivity and comfort. Born in 1949 in San Diego, California, Hanks spent his youth surfing and playing tennis, developing a lasting connection to the Pacific Ocean that would later resurface in his artwork. At seventeen, his family moved to New Mexico, and after graduating high school, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in San Francisco, excelling in commercial art and figure drawing. He later transferred to the California College of Arts and Crafts, earning a bachelor of fine arts degree.
While working as a caretaker at a Campfire Girl’s camp in 1976, Hanks devoted four-and-a-half years to experimenting with oils, watercolor, pencil, and acrylics. After suffering an allergic reaction to oils, he switched to watercolors, eventually mastering the medium to echo the intensity and clarity of oil paints. Following his marriage to his wife Laura, with whom he had three daughters, Hanks found inspiration in capturing intimate moments of introspective solitude, focusing on the complexity of children and family life.
Hanks called his style emotional realism, portraying intricate details while sometimes obscuring faces to let setting and body language convey emotion. Backlighting became a signature element, as he was fascinated by how light filtered through objects. Represented by Park West Gallery, Hanks also created stone lithographs by hand and was famous for producing fine art with Etch A Sketch toys. Despite being diagnosed with cancer, he never stopped painting. Hanks passed away at age sixty-six on April 22 in Albuquerque, New Mexico from cardiac arrest.