ABOUT
Hello anyone, this is Hank Bellamy.
As of this writing I am 76 years old, and I have thought of myself as an artist all my life. I was one of those children who could draw a recognizable likeness of a human face by age 9 or 10. My mother Catherine was a very skilled artist. Growing up, I watched her paint in her impressionist style  - similar to Monet - most every day. She always encouraged me, but never instructed me. Over time I practiced and gained proficiency in just about every medium of 2D and 3D imagery. The high point in my career as an artist was during my 40's and 50's when I made lots of copper sculpture and also became a hyper-realistic portrait painter. But in my early 60's I was stricken with various orthopedic ailments, and peripheral neuropathy, which ultimately denied me the use of my hands for painting the way I wanted. So I gave it up, and took up leatherwork - alligator hides mostly - and primitive wood sculpture. Early 2023, two women artists whose work I admire - Lyn Hiner primarily - convinced me to try digital art. Its pretty much the same skillset as oil painting, except for two key differences - First, I can try to make the brush stroke I want an unlimited number of times. I average about 6 tries, but I can erase with a two-finger tap until I get what I want. So my unsteady hands can be overcome somewhat. Also, these days I'm not covered in paint and linseed oil, which is nice. Spring of 2023 I attended a workshop with my most admired figurative painter (living) Alyssa Monks, at The New York Academy of Art. Her instruction, although she is limited strictly to classical oil painting, gave me the confidence to forge ahead with my new career, using digital art. That week was, by the way, the only formal art class I have ever had. It also made me wish that I had a formal art education. But time grows short for me, and that opportunity is behind me now. So, I am an old self-taught painter. What you see is what you get. 

I'm also not a web designer, and this website is only meant as a temporary calling card.