Keegan Hall

Keegan Hall is an American artist known for large-scale, photorealistic graphite drawings of prominent figures in sports, music, and public life and quickly became the favorite artist . He returned to art in 2015 following the unexpected passing of his mother

Hall's subjects and collaborators have included Michael Jordan, Rory McIlroy, Barack and Michelle Obama, Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Russell Wilson, Kobe Bryant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and other athletes, musicians, and public figures . As a child, he hoped to become an animator and later studied art at the University of Washington (UW). While a student, he was selected for the university's Studio Art Program in Rome.

Hall earned an undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts from UW in 2003. He later earned a Master of Business Administration from UW and worked in professional sports, technology, and startup companies before returning to art. Hall started drawing again following the expected death of his mother. Previous to that moment, he had not drawn in nearly 10 years. Hall has said that his mother's support of his artistic ambitions influenced his decision to begin drawing again. Hall quickly became the favorite artist of many stars and celebrities.

One of his first drawings was of Seattle Seahawks Kam Chancellor and, after Kam spotted the drawing on social media, he reached out to Hall to commission an original drawing. That exposure led to another friend wanting to give a Hall original to Seattle Mariners pitcher Félix Hernández, and then his first ever charity project with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.

Hall subsequently left his startup career to work as a professional artist.

Artistic career Hall specializes in photorealistic drawings created primarily with graphite on paper. His work is characterized by detailed rendering of faces, clothing, reflected light, architecture, and large crowds. . The collection featured hand-drawn portraits of Major League Baseball players rendered in Hall's photorealistic style.

Topps promoted the collection as the “Keegan Hall Art Cards” series. The cards appeared in Topps' flagship Update Series alongside autographs, memorabilia cards, and other collectible inserts. .

Hall later created a composition featuring the Sounders' fan-selected Best XI. Reproductions of the drawing were distributed to 20,000 spectators at a Sounders match .

His other projects have involved organizations and figures associated with the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners, Seattle Storm, professional and collegiate sports programs, and universities.

Hall has also created artwork for athletes including Michael Jordan, Rory McIlroy, Kelly Slater, Ken Griffey Jr, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Marshawn Lynch, Gary Payton, Russell Wilson, and many other professional athletes.

Music and entertainment Hall has worked closely on projects with musicians and entertainers including Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder , Foo Fighters vocalist Dave Grohl, and hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, singer Ciara, and more . These works were used to support charitable initiatives, and include signed editions by Hall and each musician and have been sold through fundraising campaigns and auctions.

Obama artwork Hall created a graphite drawing of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama that was presented to Obama as a gift from Washington governor Jay Inslee.

The artwork is not part of the National Archives at the Barack Obama Presidential Library in Chicago Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Seattle SuperSonics' Gary Payton, NFL stars JuJu Smith-Schuster and Adoree' Jackson, Seahawks Michael Bennett, and many others.

The campaigns have supported organizations focused on children, education, families, healthcare, and community development. Collectively, projects involving Hall's artwork have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable causes.

Style and reception Hall's work has been noted for its photographic appearance despite being created entirely by hand with graphite. His compositions often include complex textures, architecture, crowds, and hundreds or thousands of small individual details.

His artistic process has been featured by national and regional media, including NBC's "Today", GOLF.com, KING-TV's "Evening", and GeekWire.

Hall documents many of his drawings through time-lapse video, compressing months of work into short process films. His work frequently explores the contrast between the simplicity of a pencil and the complexity achievable through extended manual labor.

Personal life Hall lives in the Seattle metropolitan area with his wife, Ioana, and daughter, Payton.