Hank Lawshe was born in Los Angeles in 1935 and died in 1993. The move East of his commercial art employer was the turning point in his career.
After growing up on the family farm in central Illinois, Lawshe worked as a mechanic and soldier, with five years as a champion race car driver. He began his career in art as a sign painter, and in 1966, accepted a job as a commercial artist with a new advertising agency in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1971, he was promoted to Vice President in management rather than art and continued to paint in oil as a hobby, selling the paintings through a sporting goods store.
When his employer asked him to move, he quit and became a caretaker of a remote Montana ranch. Teaching himself to switch to fine art was difficult. In 1977, he won the Best of Show at the C. M. Russell Art Show and in 1979, he was elected a member of the Northwest Rendezvous Group.
After growing up on the family farm in central Illinois, Lawshe worked as a mechanic and soldier, with five years as a champion race car driver. He began his career in art as a sign painter, and in 1966, accepted a job as a commercial artist with a new advertising agency in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1971, he was promoted to Vice President in management rather than art and continued to paint in oil as a hobby, selling the paintings through a sporting goods store.
When his employer asked him to move, he quit and became a caretaker of a remote Montana ranch. Teaching himself to switch to fine art was difficult. In 1977, he won the Best of Show at the C. M. Russell Art Show and in 1979, he was elected a member of the Northwest Rendezvous Group.
