Art Statement

Physicians wore plague masks centuries ago when battled bubonic plague. The beaked masks look inhuman. The painting is done using a Velazquez technique. It is on a handmade rough linen herringbone canvas that had a pinkish red ground. The color scheme is predominately black and white. Scumbles, paint layers, and heavy impasto are used to create depth and mystery. The herringbone catches the paint layers which again creates depth. In parts of the mask, the reds of the ground show through.

Artist Biography

Hannah Apps painted her first landscape in oil at age 12 and has continued to make art ever since. She has always loved color and texture and transitioned from painting to quilting in her 20’s to satisfy this love. But by the time she hit 50, she was dying fabric and painting her quilts. After painting the Mackinac Bridge on a wall quilt, she decided it was time to paint on canvas and panel instead. Now, she works primarily in oils, acrylics, and pastels. She typically makes her own panels and canvases (it must be the quilt maker in her). She often does underpaintings and then use a series of glazes to give depth and richness to the colors. Lately she has been experimenting with imprimatura layers and thick and thin paint. Her work comments on the human condition. She wants to make a viewer laugh, cry, or question what they are seeing. Her art has been juried into shows throughout the Midwest and in several national and international online shows. In addition, she has won awards in several shows.

She has been very lucky throughout her life as she has had so many opportunities to serve her community, teach fantastically talented students at Kalamazoo College, and learn, write, and create. No matter where her life was taking her, art has always been in the forefront. She is a lifelong learner and always wants to try something new. Apps has studied in an atelier setting with Kenneth Freed, a nationally known oil painter. She has also studied with other pastel and oil painters. She is a member of Oil Painters of America, Great Lakes Pastel Society, and American Women Artists. Her website is www.hannahhilesapps.com.   She lives in Kalamazoo Michigan with her husband and two spoiled cats.