Artist Bio

The following is a bio written for a graphic artist’s website. The task was to highlight key aspects of the artist’s qualifications, personality, and collaborative orientation with a nontraditional narrative approach to match the style of his art.

There is a grand folkloric tradition in the Leatherstocking Region of Central New York State where Alan Hawley was born. Mythical characters have been said to leap from local lakes and pastures, prepared—as with Paul Bunyan and his ax—to execute their outsized destinies. In keeping with that tradition, legend holds that not a single recorded image or memory exists of Alan Hawley prior to age 13 unless he is hunched over a sketchpad with a pencil in his hand. He was called upon to draw, and draw he did—most often inspired by an early affinity for Marvel superhero comics.

Accounts of time and circumstance vary—some cite as the catalyst a chance yard sale encounter with the Thin Lizzy album Vagabonds of the Western World. Others point to an early discovery of Alfred E. Neuman and the legendary Mad Magazine. Either way, a switch was flipped, and along with adolescence came a willingness to step away from the sketchbook to seek inspiration outside the comic book universe. From pop and underground music of the 60s, 70s and 80s to early twentieth-century pulp magazine art, Alan assembled the palette of cultural references that would inform his work for years to come.

A self-taught visual storyteller in the tradition of Henri Rousseau and Grandma Moses, Alan draws upon his influences and makes them his own. In his exploration of the central European Krampus myth, his growing cast of original superhero-style characters, or his beautifully skewed takes on pop culture, romance, and relationships, he demonstrates a specialty: capturing a complete and compelling story in a single image.

As a collaborator, he possesses the technical skill to execute a client’s particular vision. Bring him just the seed of an idea, and he will cultivate an array of enticing visual options. To be sure, Alan Hawley is a creator with a singular sensibility, but he prides himself on also being an artist who listens. If you’re interested in teaming up with an imaginative, high-energy illustrator who works well with others and—above all else— likes to laugh and have fun, his door is open.