Jared Hankins

Jared Hankins was born in Denver, Colorado in 1975. He was raised in Denver and still resides there today. The beginning of Hankins’ professional career reads as the history of young man devoted to finding visual solutions to challenges. Hankins early experiences in the business world involved product development, a field in which his creativity and knack for drawing and design allowed him to shine for Fortune 500 companies. In 2008 he opened his own business, Blender Design Group, which led to his art filling almost the entirety of the Four Seasons Hotel in Denver. In 2013 the Ritz Carlton in Beaver Creek, Colorado commissioned Hankins to paint two bison paintings for their lobby. It was this project that gave birth to the style Hankins has become renowned for in the fine art world.

Hankins paints with a thoughtfulness that brings classic American images back to the forefront. With a realist's eye and a distinctive style that gives his paintings a quintessential vintage look,  Hankins art has found its place amongst Colorado's most important contemporary artists. His style is reminiscent of vintage photography. His mastery of materials allows him to subtly incorporate streaks, drips and perhaps even different spots of uneven color to give his paintings a classic look. 

He says, "Through the early part of my career, I spent endless hours shaping my skills in realism, and I was always drawn to gritty objects. Rusty metal and chipped paint add a level of character and moodiness that I need in my work. These images made their way into a series that stem from our collective conscious - images that are so familiar and tangible, they transport the viewer back to a place or time in life so vivid, they can almost feel and smell the environment."

Being a Colorado artist, much of Hankins’ work depicts iconic mountain scenery in his distinctive style. He is passionate about doing so from a skier’s perspective. His work is both dramatic and peaceful at once, having presented the mountains as towering, iconic forms yet reduced in color palette to shades of primarily black and white. He oscillates between painting the mountains from afar, in which they stand in stark contrast to their quiet backgrounds, and up close, in which Hankins dives into specific spots on the mountain. The paintings beckon to both be enjoyed as works of art and as inspiration objects that make their viewers want to get outside and discover the places Hankins paints for themselves.

Of his work at large, Hankins says, "I love creating conversation pieces. Whether it's a landscape, a ski scene or a roller coaster, I try to find a unique angle — something that hasn’t been done before,” he says. “That’s what keeps me inspired." His paintings are found in both corporate and private collections around the world.