Paintings > California Now

oil painting los angeles
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
Familiar
oil on wood panel
16 x 16 inches
2016
On The Other Side
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
Red Flood
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
Grand Avenue
oil on wood panel
16 x 16 inches
2016
California Light
oil on wood panel
48 x 48 inches
2016
The Quiet and the Heat
oil on wood panel
20 x 20 inches
2016
Almost A Dream
oil on wood panel
48 x 48 inches
2016
Ladder
oil on wood panel
16 x 16 inches
2017
Tomorrow
oil on wood panel
16 x 16 inches
2017
January
oil on wood panel
16 x 16 inches
2016
Awakening
oil on wood panel
16 x 16 inches
2017
Winter Light
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
Thoughts Interrupted
oil on wood panel
48 x 48 inches
2016
Remembering
oil on wood panel
16 x 16 inches
2016
Freeway Blur
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
On Life and Death
oil on wood panel
16 x 16 inches
2016
The Last Light
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
Tormenta
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
The Beginning
oil on wood panel
36 x 36 inches
2016
The Space Between
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
I Should Have Called
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016
Waiting For You
oil on wood panel
24 x 24 inches
2016

“Bradley Hankey is a master at painting skies. As an artist, he has the rare ability to turn pigment into light. His canvases become luminous fields that glow with a vibrant energy. They pulse and move, as if they were alive. Each of the paintings captures a different type of light and was inspired by a specific sky, seen at a unique time and place. In Hankey’s hands, they become universal symbols of transcendent tranquility.

“Skies are the dominant feature in these paintings, but they are not the only elements. He also includes parts of the surrounding landscape—buildings, street lights, palm trees. His settings remind us that what he paints is quintessential Los Angeles. The blend of open space, with just hints of our urban environment, add charm. They tell us that these are our landscapes, parts of our everyday lives.

“These paintings reflect Hankey’s love affair with Southern California. A native of Oregon, he grew up under the dark, gray skies of the Pacific Northwest. After attending art school at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, he moved to the west coast and settled in Los Angeles. His deep affection for his adopted home is recorded in his art. Each work began as a photo he took with his smart phone. Although each image began with something seen at a particular moment, he transforms his source into something timeless.

“Hankey’s paintings are the result of a laborious process, where he builds up color, one layer at a time. His underpainting begins flat and uniform. With each successive step, he adds thin, transparent layers of paint, applied in an array of techniques. In the end, the multiple layers fuse optically to create a luminous field. The final image has a gently shimmering quality that must be seen in person to be fully appreciated. His paintings are pure visual poetry.”

--Michael Zakian, Director, Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art

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