Artist Bio
ABOUT HANNAH
My name is Hannah McGuire Silva, and I am a self-taught abstract artist born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1994. I was raised in an artistic family and have been creating in all forms for as long as I can remember.
Growing up, I never felt like I fit in or knew who I really was.
I put a lot of effort into being who I thought I was supposed to be, but this just led to me not knowing my true self.
I felt lost, small, and insignificant. I was tired of never feeling good enough and needed to make a change.
This is when I discovered my love for art.
Art not only allowed me to express myself in a positive way, being able to let go and accept my emotions, but it slowly helped me to find myself again for who I truly was. I was able to find my own inner strength and, over time, heal. Art was where I found my power.
I want my art to be a beacon for others, somewhere for them to find freedom and peace, and, even more, to feel their own true power wherever they view it.
MY STYLE
My influences these days are things found in nature, especially stone, water, plants, and outer space. However, light and energy are the most significant influences in my art. Since I was a child, light has always fascinated me; where it came from, what makes it have different colors, how it even did that. The way light and energy work together to advance our world is truly amazing. Naturally, this worked its way into my art through light-reflective materials such as metallic inks and gold leaf, resulting in my signature "glowing" and "charged" paintings that change their hue and mood depending on the type of light hitting them at that moment.
I work primarily with ink and transparent epoxy layers to create 3D depth in my abstract paintings. From afar, the pieces look bold and bright, but each tiny detail in every layer stands out when up close. I create these pieces using a fluid-control technique, and each layer takes 24 hours to cure before I can start the next. I currently work from my small home studio in Olney, MD.
I've worked on my technique through lots of trial and error, and, over the last couple of years, I have finally found a style that speaks the message I set out to create. While I want to create unique paintings in how they look and wow the viewer with something they've never seen before, I also want my art to bring peace to the viewer by using soothing compositions and layered details. In hard moments in my past, having been in an abusive relationship, I would find peace wherever I could - usually in looking at the art around me and finding a distraction in the details for a short time. That peace I felt is something I want to spread more of and give to others in need of it. It's small, but it can help for a few moments.
Thank you for your interest in learning more about me.