Steve Hanks is first and foremost a figure painter whose watercolours are infused with emotion and a kind of poetry formed by light and shadow in his compositions. Realistic figure painting in watercolour is technically demanding and Hanks is the premiere artist working in this field today. His astonishing realism comes from his skilful control of washes, edges and layers, and his knowledge of the properties of water and pigment. Hanks paints what he refers to as "moments of introspective solitude" with the deepest respect for the privacy of the individual lost in reflection. The paintings in this ample volume represent the most extensive collection of the artist's work in over ten years and his subjects include infants, children and families, beautiful women and nudes. Every painting holds a mystery and each is also a personal story about the artist as he discovers the expression of his own emotional unfolding through his art.

Steve Hanks（史蒂夫汉克）1949 年在圣地牙哥军事的家庭之内出生，美国现实主义水彩画家，可以说是人文主义的画家。 　　他的作品以妇女和儿童为主,画出了生活的平淡,却又让你怦然心动,那时一种平和中的感动, 激情中的平淡。他的风格是运动的写实主义 他让脸让整个身材表达情绪。 背光是他的常用风格。用线条勾勒出整个空间而不置于勾死 ,利用色彩.水.过滤事物令人出神入化。

他获得过很多奖项,包括西方艺术国家学院金奖(1992), 国家水彩社会贡献奖(1991),一直是美国顶尖艺术家之一,受到了批评家和收藏家的一致称赞。他的作品来自于生活的点点滴滴，来自于每一个温馨的时刻，看他的画，你会忘记美术作品的色调、笔触、甚至构图，而仿佛在读一首诗，仿佛在体悟人生的真谛，因为你在看画的一瞬间就被某些我们都能看懂的部分所吸引，至少对我是这样。他的女性人体的作品，尤其是其中表现出来的不可思议的微妙的感觉和细心而明快的空气引了大众的关注。这些作品很好的阐述了他的“introspective solitude”的含义，也体现了某个批评家曾经描述过的艺术家独特的捕作“poised between heart beats”的能力。