Artist:
Hannah Hooten is a young, up and coming traveling artist. She has been in the arts her whole life, primarily self/family taught in her early years. She learned basic watercolor techniques from her late grandmother, graphite sketches from her dad, and the concepts of basic art fundamentals from her mother, using books at home. She attributes much of what she’s learned to create to those who walked before her, as there are pieces of each of them in everything she does. Because of this, the arts have always been a source of comfort and peace for her throughout life.
In Middle school, she developed a long term illness, one of the symptoms being temporary paralysis. During the months of being unable to walk, she dove further into the arts; growing her skills as well as expanding her mediums. This led to experimentation with glow in the dark paints, abstract and concept pieces, pastels, and extensively more detailed sketch pieces than her prior works. Shortly after her first few charcoal drawings in 2015, she started selling her works locally and offering commissions. In 2017, she was presented as an artist on the Pixel Point Artistry online gallery, and began selling professional prints. Around this time, she also joined the Arts Council in her home town, and was added to their list of rotating artists on display in various locations. She was also asked to teach independent classes for multiple different groups during her high school career.
In 2018, she started college, studying dance and worship arts, at Anderson University. While there, she was asked to do henna/painting for some of the festivals on campus, and completed multiple commissions for different events and chapel gatherings. For her astronomy class, she presented a final project on the curriculum, featuring two paintings on space in addition to her speech. In 2022, she was asked to be one of the artists presented in the HOTA auction in her home town, and commissioned to do a new painting for their auction fundraiser. In 2023, she was asked to return again for the HOTA auction, with a new painting. That same year, she was asked to paint a mural of space in a school classroom, with a line-up of the planets in our solar system set to scale for teaching purposes.
Aside from private commissions, she has retracted from most public events due to new health issues the past few years. During this time, however, she again has found the struggle to be cultivating creativity and growth, leading to multiple new series’ coming out this year and next. She is excited and grateful to share everything she's been working on this new season!
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Artist Statement:
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“I love working with all different kinds of media in art, and have for most of my life. In recent years, however, I have developed a particular passion for painting sky-scapes and galaxies. I started painting them during a time when I was very sick, and was confined to a wheelchair. In the midst of being unable to live a normal life, it gave me a great sense of freedom to create an endless space of colors and stars. It took me back to the feeling I used to get when I would stargaze with my dad. I ended up fighting the illness for years, so I would paint myself new things I could get lost in, as an escape from what I was going through.
Although I originally painted my dreamworlds as an escape, I hope that my paintings bring the dreamworld to people instead. I hope that it brings a piece of magic into their world, and helps find what life could look like through a different lens. I hope they can experience the peace and comfort I found in it, and that the beauty inspires them to create their own safe spaces wherever they go.”
- Hannah Hooten
