Between Light And Body: Eroticism In the Watercolors Of Steve Hanks

Steve Hanks (1949–2015) is recognized as one of the greatest contemporary watercolor artists. His work has won over both the public and critics not only for his impressive technical skill in a medium that is difficult to master but also for his ability to produce images that combine lyricism, intimacy, and emotion. Although he is primarily remembered for scenes of daily life, landscapes, and family representations, eroticism holds a fundamental place in his production—an eroticism that is not presented explicitly or aggressively but is structured through the delicacy of light, bodily gestures, and silent suggestion.

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BETWEEN THE SEA AND INTIMACY: BIOGRAPHICAL ROOTS OF THE GAZE

Steve Hanks was born in 1949 in San Diego into a military family. The son of a U.S. Navy aviator, he grew up in direct contact with the ocean, practicing surfing and tennis on the beaches of California. This early experience left indelible marks on his visual sensibility. The sea, with its luminosity, fluidity, and mysterious power, became not only a recurring theme in his watercolors but also a metaphor for emotional experience itself. When commenting on his youth, Hanks emphasized that the ocean was “good for the soul,” functioning as a meeting space between body and nature. This perception already reveals a first trace of eroticism in his formation: the bodily contact with water, the fusion of subject and environment, the sensation of surrendering to the natural element. Much more than a backdrop, the sea in his work symbolizes the idea of a body in flux, permeated by vital energy.

The family's move to New Mexico during his adolescence displaced this maritime horizon to arid and silent landscapes. This transition reinforced his need to seek in painting a space for reconstructing lost sensory experiences. After attending the Academy of Fine Arts in San Francisco and graduating from the California College of Arts and Crafts, Hanks began a long period of experimentation with different techniques. It was through this process that he discovered watercolor as the most suitable medium for conveying not just images, but atmospheres of intimacy.

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EMOTIONAL REALISM

Steve Hanks defined his painting as “emotional realism.” The term synthesizes two complementary dimensions: fidelity to reality, achieved through rigorous technique, and an emphasis on the expression of human emotions. For Hanks, realism manifests in minute details: the texture of a fabric, the glint of light on water, the delicate contour of the skin. However, it is not a cold or photographic representation. Every detail is invested with emotional charge. A veil illuminated by the sun is not just fabric but a symbol of fragility; the curve of a body is not just anatomy but an expression of desire or contemplation. This emotional realism is fundamental to the construction of eroticism in his work. Unlike pornography or explicit eroticism, the artist relies on suggestion, for example, in the way he paints the faces of his figures turned downward or in profile, concealing their identity. What emerges is the body as an expressive whole, as the absence of a defined face shifts the focus to gesture, posture, and the play of light, opening space for the viewer to project their own imagination and desire.

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THE EROTICISM OF SUGGESTION AND SILENCE

The eroticism in Steve Hanks's watercolors is not based on the explicit display of nudity. Often, his female figures are clothed, wrapped in translucent fabrics, sitting on beds, or near open windows. At other times, they are depicted partially nude, but in contexts of withdrawal: looking at the sea, lying on sheets, or in introspective gestures. This eroticism of suggestion is intensified by the way Hanks positions his characters. By avoiding frontality and a direct gaze at the viewer, he breaks with the logic of objectification. The body is not presented as an object of immediate visual consumption but as a space for contemplation. In this sense, eroticism is constructed through intimacy, not shock.

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