John Austin Hanna Born 1942

Biography

John Austin Hanna Born 1942

John Austin Hanna - Fredericksburg, Texas John graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Advertising Art & Design. As a 20-year illustrator in New York and Dallas he has been published in several magazines such as Automotive Quarterly, Car and Driver, Saga, Town & Country, Flying, Popular Boating, and Popular Science. He has also done work for several large corporations such as Mercedes, Volkswagen, Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, Borden’s, Pearl Beer, Coors Beer, Phillips 66, Shell Oil, Byron Nelson Golf Classic and Chili’s Bar & Grill. Mr. Hanna’s work can also be found in several books published by Harcourt Brace & World and McGraw Hill. He has done work for author Ian Fleming & Warner Bros. Despite his successes as an illustrator, Hanna believes that his career really took off once he traded in the “big city skylines” for the rock houses, livestock, landscape and old barns of Fredericksburg, Texas. “My years in New York and Dallas as an illustrator were great, but I wasn’t really following my heart,” explains Hanna. “Throughout my childhood in Beaumont, I was always drawing and dreaming of becoming a ‘real’ artist. I finally decided that I had to pursue that dream”. Hanna’s paintings are strong in dramatic light and rich in color. His paintings embrace a variety of subjects from landscapes, still lifes and portraits, set anywhere from the Texas Gulf Coast to quaint country homes on the back roads of Missouri. Some of his paintings portray the big picture, some zero in on a walked-over piece of life. “To me, life is more interesting if you look at it the way it is. Everything has its own innate beauty,” he reveals. “Something always triggers a painting: an old house, a rock wall, maybe just light playing on creek water. I never run out of things to see." John will be participating in the Traveling the West Art Show and Sale in Dallas in October 2015. His paintings will also again be featured in The Briscoe Western Art Museum’s “Night of Artists” show in March of 2016. He is a member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA) and his work has been published by Somerset House Publishers. John was honored to be commissioned in 2005 by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to do an eight-phase depiction of the rodeo for their corporate offices. He and his wife, Sherry live in Fredericksburg, Texas. RECENT SHOWS/HONORS: Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation - The Art of Texas Parks Project - the Bullock Texas History Museum Show - 2023 (Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Texas State Park System The Briscoe Western Art Museum - Night of Artists - March 2013-2020Traveling the West Art Show & Sale - October 2015 Rocky Mountain Oyster Club Art Show - November 2015-2019Art on the Llano Estacado Show - June 2015-2019RS Hanna Gallery - One Man Show - March 2012Clearwater Gallery - Miniature Show - July 2013Oil Painters of America - 23rd Annual National Juried Exhibition - Donors Award of Excellence 2013Oil Painters of America - 20th Annual National Juried Exhibition - 2011InSight Gallery - Texas Stampede Invitational - March 2010InSight Gallery - Celebrations Invitational - December 2009 & 2010InSight Gallery - Founding Artists Show - October 2009InSight Gallery - Group Show - May 2009Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo - 2005 - 2012 - Commissioned Hanna to paint an eight-phase depiction of the rodeo for their corporate offices Whistle Pik Galleries - One Man Show - 1997-2008Whistle Pik Galleries - Texas Review - 1998-2008Whistle Pik Galleries - Christmas Miniature Show - 1997-2008Whistle Pik Galleries - Two Man Show with Mark Haworth – November, 2003Cowboy Artists of America Museum Night of Artists – 2002-2003Texas Art Gallery Semi-annual shows – 2002-2003Admiral Nimitz Museum - Fredericksburg, Texas: 150 Years of Paintings and Drawing - May 1996 (Exhibit accompanied by 112 page hardbound book featuring 26 artists) Books and Magazines "Hill Country Magazine”, January 2017, “Hill Country Artist: John Austin Hanna”, by Robert Deming “Southwest Art Magazine, April 2013, “A Touch of Humanity”, by Bonnie Gangelhoff "Western Art Collector”, April 2015, “Never Ending Stories”, by Joshua Rose "Western Art & Architecture”, June/July 2012, “In The Studio”, by Amy Lemen "Western Art Collector”, October 2010, “Texas Tradition” “Western Art Collector”, October 2009, “Founding Artists”, by Joshua Rose "Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo”, Summer 2006, “Portrait of a Rodeo Cowboy”, by Samantha Fewox Southwest Art Magazine, February2005, “My World”, by Wolf Schneider Southwest Art Magazine, September 2004, “Art Events, Texas”, by Julie Osterman Southwest Art Magazine, September 2004, “Texas, Best of the West”, by Julie Osterman Art Talk, November 2001, “In the Galleries”, Editors. Southwest Art Magazine, November 2002, “Art Events: Texas”, Editors Southwest Art Magazine, November 2001, “Art Events: Texas”, Editors Southwest Art Magazine, November 2000, “Art Events: Texas”, Editors Art Talk, April 1999, “In the Galleries”, Editors. Southwest Art, October 1997, “Best of the West”, Margaret Brown Southwest Art, April 1997, “Best of the West, Texas”, Kristin Bucher “Fredericksburg Texas – 150 Years of Paintings and Drawings”, April 1996, (112 page hardbound book featuring 26 artists), by Jack Maguire Publications: As a 20-year illustrator in New York and Dallas, John Austin Hanna has been published in several magazines such as Automotive Quarterly, Car and Driver, Saga, Town & Country, Flying, Popular Boating, and Popular Science. He has also done work for several large corporations such as Mercedes, Volkswagen, Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, Borden’s, Pearl Beer, Coors Beer, Phillips 66, Shell Oil, Byron Nelson Golf Classic and Chili’s Bar & Grill. Mr. Hanna’s work can also be found in several books published by Harcourt Brace & World and McGraw Hill. He has done work for author Ian Fleming & Warner Bros.