Hanna Bayer is a painter and designer currently residing in Irvine, California. She entered her first art competition at the age of eleven, and participated in numerous local art competitions and shows prior to college. During her time at Bates College, Hanna pursued majors in Philosophy and Art and Visual Culture with a concentration in 2D Art. She spent her first year and a half of college working to perfect drafting and technical drawing skills, before dedicating most of her efforts to oil painting since 2015.
Simultaneously, Hanna began designing and painting sets for student-run theatre productions. The productions included Edges (2015), Pirates of Penzance (2015), and High School Musical (2017). She also designed sets for The Illusionist, Chicago, and Sweeney Todd in her academic classes.
In January 2016, Hanna enrolled in the Tyler School of Art’s Rome campus for the semester. During her time in Rome, Hanna participated in three gallery openings at Tyler’s campus, including the second Tiny Biennale. The theme of the 2016 show was Mythology, and Hanna created three 8 cm x 8 cm oil paintings titled Nymphs.
Hanna was commissioned by The Crosstones, a Bates College a cappella group, to design and create the album art for their junior album, Once In Our Lives. The album was released on November 17, 2016 and can be found on Spotify and iTunes.
At the end of Spring 2017, Hanna completed her year-long senior thesis in oil painting. Her series, They Don't See Me (2017) was on display at Bates College Museum of Art from April 28th, 2017 until May 27th, 2017.
After graduating college, Hanna moved to Boston, MA and worked in Diversity & Inclusion in both the technology and non-profit spaces. She continued to grow her personal brand as a portrait and figure artist, and began freelancing by accepting commissions. Her commissioned pieces include various pets, floral arrangements, and even a tattoo design.
Hanna is currently a 1L at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, where she is studying international human rights law. When she is not studying, Hanna is painting. To stay up to date with what she is working on, check out her Instagram page @hannaruthbayer