Hans F. Gude discovered his interest in and facility for drawing as a pre-teen when he encountered books about the old masters on the shelves of his home growing up. He spent many hours meticulously reproducing in pencil, charcoal, or ink the figures he saw in paintings and statues by Michelangelo, Bernini, Leonardo, and others.

 

His father, a civil engineer, introduced him to the principles of draftsmanship and linear perspective—knowledge he applies in his landscapes. 

 

Through high school and for two years of college, Hans studied and practiced art.  He supplemented his coursework with copious reading about art history, methods, and technique, including design, color theory, materials, perspective, anatomy, drawing, and painting.

 

Hans subscribes to a traditional view of art-making, seeing it as a craft, the goal of which is to produce artworks pleasing to the eye using the time-honored techniques of design, form, draftsmanship, color harmony, and the illusion of light. 

 

He adopts Leonardo's advice, moreover, that a painter should not just learn to do one thing well, but work to achieve proficiency in all manner of methods and subjects, including landscapes, figures, and portraits. 

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His preferred mediums include pencil, oil paint, gouache, watercolor, charcoal, and pen & ink. He recently began creating digital art by adding Procreate on an iPad Pro to his toolbox. ​