Jared Hankins

My journey through art has been anything but straight. I am self taught and have learned by extensive trial and error. Like any craft, you file away what works and what doesn't. Art is about exploring and incubating concepts until I am able to align my vision with my ability. There are ideas that stay dormant for years until the right set of control, ambition and ability come along to make it happen.

Inspired by some recent documentaries on big mountain skiers and mountaineers, I began to think through how I would approach a mountain series. As I researched imaging, I was surprised that I could not find decent art painted from a skiers perspective or the aspects of the mountain that my friends and I ski. Most mountain-scapes tend to be vague landscapes with the mountain as a backdrop from an onlooker's perspective, not from a participant.  

I used early black and white imaging of the American West as inspiration for capturing the gritty, timeless quality of these peaks. By adding subtle tone and a more contemporary composition (with a skier's perspective), I hope to pay homage all of the explorers and ski industry innovators that have made these mountains accessible. 

As my style evolves, I continue to play with ways to pull the viewer into the subjects. Traditional landscapes have always felt a little vague, so by isolating the mountain and structuring these pieces as I would a portrait, I am isolating the shape of the peak in an attempt to create a more dramatic and contemporary take on a traditional subject. These mountains are as temperamental and moody as any human. They are fascinating to paint when humanized and stripped of their surroundings.