About me

I am Ryan Dean Haas. I'm a german artist based in the Black Forest.

I chose my artist name 'Ryan'. It is a nickname I received over ten years ago, it has since pretty much replaced my birth name.

While I'm mainly self-taught I also trained at the School of Fine Arts in Offenburg. In 2014 I participated in their summer academy and became a regular student there. I was still in school at this point and while resources like money and time were rare, I persevered, took classes regularly and learned a lot. Thanks to art school mentality and the wonderful people there, I grew not only as an artist but also as a person.

In 2015, I graduated from high school with a grade of 12 out of 15 points in art. It was at that time that I delved even more into art, especially self-portraits. It started with my art series “The Artist” in which sketched myself repeatedly in front of a mirror, using my own body as reference for anatomy studies.

After living in Australia for a year, spending my time working on farms, traveling the country and getting inspired by breathtaking views and beautiful landscapes, I returned to Germany in late 2016. I immediately went back to taking classes at the School of Fine Arts in Offenburg.

I am currently working at a nursery home for mentally ill, old people. Since it is mostly palliative care I've been confronted with the death of patients on a regular basis, which also reflects in my art. I’ve drawn skulls, abandoned rooms and sometimes even dying patients. Losing people you cared for is always tough. Drawing them during their last moments and just being there, helps me cope with their eventual death.

I decided to make art an even bigger part of my life last year, in 2018. One of my friends and mentors helped me to get into three exhibitions that year. It was a great experience, which allowed me to gain exposure, network and become more well-known. Later that year, I joined an art association and started my own small business 'Ryan Dean Haas', which allowed me to officialize my art sales through postcards and paid commissions.

Since then I've been striving to improve and make art a full-time career. Last year I got a taste of what it could be like. Showing my art during exhibitions, working on commissions, creating an art studio space, drawing all day, seeing steady improvement, working on bigger and bigger projects. That's what I want to achieve, and I'm determined to get there one day.