Dixon has been a fan since she invited Hannah to join a Shaker Arts
Council show highlighting Moreland artists in 2016. One of Hannah’s paintings
appeared on the show’s invitation; the painting now hangs in Dixon’s dining
room, the first of six she has purchased from Hannah. She has recommended
Hannah’s work to several of her clients.
“From his portraits to his contemporary art, there’s a depth and energy to
it that draws you,” she says.
Growing up in the Lomond neighborhood, Hannah honed his talent with
encouragement from family – his Uncle Clifford Collins would bring him comic
books and challenge the young boy to draw what he saw – and art teachers such
as Lomond Elementary mainstay Jill (Wisneski) Schumacher, who retired in 2011.
“I would gravitate to the drawing. She just noticed and pushed me,” Hannah says.
Later, the High School’s art department “was a heavy influence on me,”
says Hannah. Teachers, such as former gallery owner Malcolm Brown, and
talented classmates showed him the art world was within his reach. “Shaker
High nurtured that art environment,” he says. “Our art program was amazing.”
After studying graphic design in college, Hannah spent a decade designing
flyers and T-shirts promoting Cleveland hip-hop groups. When that dried up,
he put his art career on hold as he focused on a whole new life as a husband
and father. Hannah’s wife Amy is a fourth-grade teacher at Fernway Elementary
where their daughter Evelyn is a second grader; son Elliott is a sixth grader at
Woodbury Elementary.
Still, art was always on his mind. Something eventually clicked for
H annah when a close friend started painting.
“I finally said, ‘If he can do that, then I’m
wasting a lot of time not doing it.’”
Hannah studied YouTube videos about stretching canvases. He studied
the styles of his idols such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Pablo Picasso. And he
experimented with whatever materials he had around his house, from wooden
crates to cardboard boxes.
It hasn’t taken long
for Hannah to find an audience.
His pieces have found their way to
local art fairs, a solo exhibit at a
Larchmere Boulevard gallery, and the
walls of Shaker Heights homes.
“The vibrance of the colors just
jumps off whatever medium he uses,”
says local designer Denise Dixon,
owner of Farrow & Wren Interiors.
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