Feb 1, 2019 6 min read

At 94, Hickory artist Frank Hnat has enjoyed a remarkable and fulfilling career as a graphic designer and is most well-known for his detailed watercolor and pastel drawings of North American wild birds. Hnat estimates he has completed more than 500 wild bird drawings and has drawn most of the major bird species that live in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Hnat and his late wife, Dorothy, who were married for 66 years, raised seven children on a farm on Fort Cherry Road, where they also raised registered Herefords. A graduate of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon University, Hnat also served in the U.S. Navy. His notecards and other products have been available for purchase at organizations including the Smithsonian Institution and the National Wildlife Federation. Sitting in his art studio, which has a view of several birdhouses and bird feeders to which bluebirds, cardinals and goldfinches flock, Hnat reflected on his life as an artist.

How did you develop your passion for drawing wild birds?

When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was to be an artist. When I was in college, we would go to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and my instructor told us to draw whatever we’d like to draw. The museum had a pretty extensive bird display. I always ended up drawing birds, and I always ended up with pen and ink.

You have produced several hundred prints, notecards, calendars and coloring books. In 2019, you released your 34th wild bird calendar.

I’ve sold probably 90,000 calendars in my span of 33 years, and I’ve sold probably 50,000 prints. The first two calendars I produced, in 1986 and 1987, I printed 500 of them and I sold out, so I don’t have any copies of them. I used to do black-and-white calendars, and a fellow who was in the Lions Club with me said, ‘Why don’t you put some coloring in?’ I thought, OK, and thereafter, for 30-something years, I’ve been doing color calendars and it’s become very successful. I have people who buy two calendars at a time, using one and collecting the other. I have collectors who have collected all 33 of them so far. It’s unbelievable.

You also began producing adult coloring books about 20 years ago, many years before coloring books for grownups surged in popularity. How did that occur?

We had a frame shop and we used to do a lot of framing for hospitals. There was a hospital in New Castle, Jameson Hospital, and I got to be familiar with the nun who ran the hospital and she said, “Frank, why don’t you do something for these people who have a broken leg or have to lie in bed and can’t do anything so they have something to keep them busy?” I thought of the idea of doing the coloring book. I had kind of a hard time at the beginning because I called them “adult coloring books” and people thought they were pornographic.

Are there artists whom you admire?

Absolutely. There was a fellow, a Pittsburgh artist by the name of Howard Miller (who painted the Rosie the Riveter poster for Westinghouse Electric), and another fellow, Henry Koerner, was a very famous artist who did covers for Time magazine and was one of my closest friends. Both used to come into the store to buy art materials.

You have a unique painting technique. Can you explain it?

The famous artists like Audubon and Roger Tory Peterson had their own style and I wanted to develop a style of my own, and I did. The technique is using watercolor and pastels, and what I do is, I take these Dr. Scholl files for your feet. I would use these chalky pastels and I would rub it on here (the Dr. Scholl heel file), just like you’re using a palette. And then I would get a Q-tip and rub the Q-tip on the drawing in the background, usually skies. It’s very subtle, very detailed, very soft. I use a pen called a radiograph pen with a very delicate nib. There are six different nibs that I use, and I never use black ink – always sepia. My work is very detailed, to the T.

In addition to completing more than 500 wildlife drawings, you owned a graphic arts firm in Pittsburgh for more than 30 years and handled major accounts for companies including Westinghouse and West Penn Power. You also owned an art material and framing store. How satisfying has your art career been?

I enjoyed my work. I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning and go to work. And when I was doing art, I couldn’t wait to go to bed at night and get up in the morning to draw. I used to draw every day, even on Christmas, New Year’s and Easter, four to five hours a day, every day of the week. Throughout the years, my wife and I used to do art shows, from California to Maine. We had a lot of fun traveling together, and we’d do anywhere from 10 to 15 shows a year. In the 1980s and ’90s, almost every weekend in the summer and the fall, we’d be at an art show where I’d sell quite a number of originals and prints. I tried to do the best shows I could, and then we’d go to the best hotels, eat the best meals and have the best martinis. I enjoyed that. To this day, I still have one martini a day.

What is the secret remaining healthy at 94 years old?

I do a lot of exercise and I go swimming once a week. I mow my grass and I stock all my firewood, I cut some wood. I try to stay busy. And, the martini.

You don’t have to go far for your inspiration for your paintings, do you?

Ninety-five percent of my work is from the scenes from the back yard here, this rural area. Wild birds perch on the birdhouses and bird feeders. When I draw a tree, I go out and get a part of the tree, if it’s an oak or a locust tree, and I would bring it in here and draw the details from it, right down to the last bark.

What has been the most satisfying part of your career?

The greatest feeling I have is when people kind of rush in (to shows) and keep buying, not just one at a time, but groups of prints. It just kind of stimulates you, and you know people must be enjoying your work. In Columbiana, Ohio, two years ago, my one daughter went with me and we stood up for eight hours just giving out prints and collecting money.