Surf Artist
Hannah Vokey
Hannah received a BA in Studio Art from Hartwick College in NY, before perusing traditional atelier training at the Gammell and then Paul Ingbertson Ateliers in Boston where she was trained in classic realism combined with impressionist seeing and color.
Hannah worked as a portrait artist while at the ateliers, but after her training was completed, put away her paints to pursue a full time position as a website developer/designer at a startup high tech company in Boston.
Hannah spent the next ten years away from the art world... until she went surfing. That first ride inspired her to race home and pick up her brushes, and start painting again after all those years away from it. This time it wasn't portraits and traditional landscapes though, but colorful paintings of the waves, the local surfers where she surfs in NH as well as paintings of other surf scenes she has seen on the road. Her favorite thing to paint though are the action paintings depicting anywhere from the graceful and subtle movements of a longboarder to the aggressive shredding style of a shortboarder. Every surfer is different - their style... and to be able to capture those differences (paint that particular surfers style) in a painting is a lot fun.
The following is from Hannah's website on why she paints surf art:
When I am painting someone dropping down the face of a wave - I feel the movement... imagine doing it myself... I visualize doing that cutback myself... that bottom turn... flying through the air before slamming back down the face of the wave... or racing up to the nose... feeling the glide...
I can't do a fraction of moves some of the surfers in my paintings are pulling off, but I love painting them doing it. I admire and respect the athleticism and beauty of surfing... but it's more than that. Surfing is just different over any other sport and I love that painting surf art has allowed me to make surfing a part of my life - everyday.
Surf art is my way of keeping that surf stoke going when out of the water - and hopefully it will for those who hang my paintings on their wall as well.
