My name is Hannah Webb, though I have used the pseudonym “The Obanoth” for many years, and I’m a painter currently living in Los Angeles. Though I'm originally from Ohio, I attended Laguna College of Art & Design in Orange County, graduating with an illustration-centric Bachelor’s degree in 2010.

My work focuses on technique in application and dynamic color, usually with a focus on organic subjects such as animals, mundane objects, or vignettes of the human body. My artistic style was developed over years of trying to teach myself to better understand color. Rather than allowing myself to blend, which had become a crutch, I began forcing myself to make very finite decisions about areas of color and how to mix them individually. This grew into an almost pixelated, geometric art style that I’ve continued refining over time.

My paintings are layers of independent shapes, stacked with precision to imply light, texture, and form. With a balance of both careful color shifts and loud punches of contrasting hues, the result is harmonious and vibrates with life. Acrylic paint is my preferred medium, and I choose to create work on wooden surfaces, as the smoothness best lends itself to the clean and precise marks that evolve into my visual geometry. My paintings are designed to exist carefully between mechanical and fluid, representational and abstracted, and ultimately tell an old story in a new voice. 

The subjects I choose to paint provide me with an opportunity to find unique ways to present things that are more or less familiar. I like exploring visual concepts of wetness, softness, and hardness without being too caught up in realism-- using somewhat relatable subject matter, such as rare birds or animal eyes, gives me more freedom to play with technique and precision.  

I have a day job working in education, which is partially why I’ve used an alias name for my artwork. It’s not a secret identity, but it does allow me a little freedom of separation between my two worlds. The college where I work is centered around video game and visual effects development, which is another nerdy outlet that I like to keep in my life for balance.

I've got a rescue rabbit that lives in my studio and watches me paint, and my time outside of work is spent cooking, making cocktails, and exploring the city.

www.theobanoth.com