Holly Hope Banks was born in Columbus, Ohio. She began her art education at the University of Toledo, receiving her Bachelor's of Art degree in 1981. She was a registered copyist at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. for 5 years. Holly continued her classical training at the Atelier of Plein-air Studies for 4 years and then furthered her studies by extensive travels to Europe.

Her work has been featured in numerous national open juried exhibitions: the last eleven years alone have included appearances in the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club at the National Arts Club in New York and with the Audubon Artists at the Salmagundi Club in New York. She has won major awards with both art organizations and is a full member of both. Her most recent award was the Medal of Honor in the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club in New York City in 2009. Her work has also been included in exhibitions in 2010, 2011, 2001 and 2000 at the Butler Institute of American Art.

In 1996, Holly was one of six American artists chosen for cultural exchange with the Union of Russian Artists. They were the first group of American artists to be officially invited to Russia. Her work was featured in an American/Russian show in Kolomna and Moscow, Russia. In 1998, she was named as one of ten prominent emerging artists in an article of American Artist magazine, and wrote an article, 'An Artistic Imagination', which was published in the same magazine in the October 2001 issue. Her portrait of 'Ms. Ramona Tumblin' was selected for the 'Best of Portrait painting', North Light Books, 1998. She is listed in numerous reference books including Who's Who in American Art, Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in the World.

Holly is a realist painter who specializes in portraits, figurative outdoor work, and still life. She is represented by Rehs Galleries in New York City as well as several portrait galleries in the South and has her work in important, private collections across the country. She resides and maintains her studio in Clearwater, Florida.